Socialite Ghislaine Maxwell appears in court as judge vets jurors for sexual abuse trial

Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges she groomed underage victims to have unwanted sex with Jeffrey Epstein. Photo / Rick Bajornas, UN via AP, File

Prospective jurors got their first glimpse of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls and women, when a judge began questioning them individually Tuesday.

Wearing a black suit, Maxwell hugged her lawyers when she entered the courtroom and briefly sketched a courtroom artist who was drawing her.

Judge Alison J. Nathan's questions in Manhattan federal court were aimed at seeing whether potential jurors can stay impartial in the sordid case against Maxwell.

A courtroom sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell listening during a court hearing flanked by her attorneys, Bobbi Sternheim, left, and Jeffrey Pagliuca. Illustration / Elizabeth Williams, AP

Judge Nathan sat about 3m away from each prospective juror as they were put in the jury box to sit alone during questioning that was to last about 10 to 15 minutes each.

The 12 jurors and six alternates who will hear the case will not be chosen until November 29, when opening statements will begin.

In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, centre, is escorted into court with shackles around her legs and waist by US marshals. Illustration / Elizabeth Williams, AP

Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges she groomed underage victims to have unwanted sex with Epstein. She has vehemently denied wrongdoing.

Epstein was arrested in 2019, but the case against him took a shocking turn when the financier and convicted sex offender killed himself while awaiting trial.

After Epstein's death, prosecutors turned their sights on Maxwell, his ex-girlfriend.

A sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell facing her attorney Bobbi Sternheim while a US marshal removes her shackles in the courtroom. Illustration / Elizabeth Williams, AP

The wealthy, Oxford-educated socialite is the daughter of British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, who died in 1991 after falling off his yacht — named the Lady Ghislaine — near the Canary Islands while facing allegations he'd illegally looted his businesses' pension funds.

Ghislaine Maxwell holds US, British and French citizenships and was repeatedly denied bail in the lead-up to her trial.

- AP