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
The only named accuser in Ghislaine Maxwell's sex crimes trial is set to take the stand today, waiving her right to anonymity.
In 1995, Farmer's sister Maria was working for Epstein as a receptionist at his New York City townhouse, which is where she says she came to know Maxwell.
When Maxwell asked about her family, Maria said she spoke about her little sister Annie, who was still in high school and would be looking at colleges soon. Maxwell allegedly suggested she talk to Epstein about it.
"What I understood was that Maria had a very wealthy boss and that he might want to help me with school," Annie Farmer told 20/20 last year. "I just thought, 'Wow, this sounds like a great opportunity.'"
Alleged Epstein victim Annie Farmer outside court in New York last year. Photo / Twitter
Farmer claims Epstein spoke to her mother and said he was inviting 25 students to New Mexico for a programme but when she arrived she was alone with the late financier and Maxwell.
Farmer said that Maxwell told her Epstein liked foot rubs and it would be a good idea to give him one.
"I think if Epstein had been suggesting that, I would have been clearly alarmed. But because it was her, I was more open to that," she said. "They were really, really good at figuring out how to push boundaries so that I didn't say, 'No I'm not going to do this.' I just felt uneasy, but [I] did it."
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell is seated at the defense table while watching testimony of witnesses during her trial. Photo / AP
"I was very aware that the door was opened and I could be seen getting a massage (by Maxwell), and then at some point she just takes the sheet down, so she exposed my breasts," Annie claimed. "I feel uncomfortable. I feel like Epstein can probably see me right now. She touches me around my chest … blurring the boundaries of normal or not normal … This was such a scary situation for me, so I just needed to just manage that and to go on as if everything was normal."
At one point, she alleged Epstein came into her bedroom, got in bed with her and tried to sexually assault her. Farmer claimed that Epstein physically restrained her and started pressing up against her. She said she remembered getting out of bed, going to the bathroom and shutting the door.
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell confers with lead defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim before Judge Alison Nathan takes the bench during Maxwell's sex trafficking trial. Photo / AP
Her testimony follows an emotional day of proceedings where an actress known only as "Jane" left the stand in tears after detailing her claims of abuse by Epstein when she was 14.
In nearly eight hours on the stand over two days, Jane described how Maxwell sometimes participated in sexual encounters with her and Epstein.
Ghislaine Maxwell 59, was arrested in July 2020, Jeffrey Epstein is no longer alive. Photo / AP
Maxwell, 59, was arrested in July 2020. She has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges. Her attorneys say prosecutors are scapegoating her because Epstein is no longer alive.
