Two years after Jeffrey Epstein's suicide behind bars, a jury has been picked in New York City for Ghislaine Maxwell's trial. Video / AP
A longtime pilot for Jeffrey Epstein told a jury at Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial that he never saw evidence of sexual activity on planes as he flew his boss and others — including a prince and ex-presidents — for nearly three decades.
Lawrence Paul Visoski jnr, the trial's first witness, was responding to questions by a defence lawyer when he acknowledged that he never encountered sexual activity aboard two jets he piloted for roughly 1000 trips between 1991 and 2019.
He said he stayed in the cockpit for most flights, but would sometimes emerge to go to the bathroom or get coffee.
Although he was called as a witness by the government, Visoski's testimony seemed to aid the defence of Maxwell as he answered questions posed by Maxwell attorney Christian Everdell about what he saw when he straightened up the aircraft after a flight.
A courtroom sketch of Lawrence Paul Visoski Jr., who was one of Jeffrey Epstein's pilots. Illustration / Elizabeth Williams, AP
Visoski didn't hesitate when Everdell asked him if he ever saw sexual activity when he went for coffee or found sex toys when he cleaned up.
"Never," the pilot answered. He said he never saw used condoms either. And when he was asked if he ever saw sex acts with underage females, he answered: "Absolutely not".
The pilot said Epstein never warned him to stay in the cockpit during flights and also encouraged him to use a bathroom near the rear of the plane that would require him to walk past the plane's couches.
He said he never saw any children on his planes who were not accompanied by their parents.
When Everdell asked him about a teenager who prosecutors say was sexually abused by Epstein before she became an adult, Visoski said he believed she was "mature" when he was introduced to her.
He also acknowledged that he had piloted planes with Britain's Prince Andrew, the late US Senator John Glenn of Ohio — the first American to orbit Earth — and former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton "more than once".
Visoski said Epstein gave him 16 hectares to build a house on the financier's New Mexico property and paid for his daughters' college education.
Epstein's plane was derisively nicknamed "The Lolita Express" by some in the media after allegations emerged that he had used it to fly teenage girls to his private island, his New Mexico ranch and his New York City townhouse.
Flight records, made public as part of civil litigation, also showed that Epstein had used the plane to fly celebrities, influential academics and politicians around the globe.
Luminaries who flew with Epstein have had to beat back speculation that their presence on the flights meant they must have been aware of the millionaire's crimes. Clinton, like others who took rides from Epstein, has said he was unaware of any misconduct.
Maxwell, 59, travelled for decades in circles that put her in contact with accomplished and wealthy people before her July 2020 arrest.
Asked by Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey where Maxwell stood in the hierarchy of Epstein's world, Visoski said Maxwell "was the Number 2". He added that "Epstein was the big Number 1".
The testimony supports what Assistant US Attorney Lara Pomerantz told jurors in her opening statement Monday when she said Epstein and Maxwell were "partners in crime". Pomerantz said Maxwell recruited and groomed girls for Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to at least 2004.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty and one of her lawyers said in an opening statement Monday that she's being made a scapegoat for Epstein, who killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell at age 66 in August 2019 as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.
