A former office worker for Jeffrey Epstein told jurors she did not witness misconduct by Ghislaine Maxwell during the six years they worked together. Cimberly Espinosa is the first defense witness to testify at Maxwell’s sex abuse trial.
“Never,” Cimberly Espinosa, 55, responded when asked if she ever saw Maxwell or Epstein “engaged in any misbehavior.”Espinosa also testified about seeing a key accuser in the case — who testified for the government as “Jane” to protect her privacy — visiting Epstein’s New York City office on Madison Avenue “a few times” in the late 1990s. She said Jane’s mother had told workers she was Epstein’s goddaughter.
Because of that, “she was treated with utmost respect,” Espinosa said. Jane’s interactions with Epstein gave her the impression “it was a loving relationship,” she added. Espinosa told the jury in federal court in Manhattan she assisted Maxwell in managing Epstein’s multiple high-end properties between 1996 and 2002.When defense attorney Christian Everdell finished his questioning, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz tried to convince jurors that Espinosa was an irrelevant witness by asking her only whether she had ever worked at any of Epstein’s homes.
, including Jane, that they were teens when they became victims of a sex-abuse scheme devised by Maxwell and Epstein. The British socialite’s attorneys are expected to make their case that Maxwell isn’t the one to blame.and the defense case could last just two days. Both sides streamlined their witness lists without revealing why, making the trial end well short of an original six-week estimate.
The start of the defense case has already sparked the usual speculation about whether the high-profile defendant will take the witness stand in her own defense — a gamble that is almost never taken. Either way, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan will have to receive direct confirmation from Maxwell about her decision before the defense can rest.
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