Ghislaine Maxwell denied under oath ever giving her ex Jeffrey Epstein or anyone else a massage, according to newly unsealed testimony the British socialite had been fighting to keep sealed.
The 20-line testimony, which led to the 58-year-old being charged with perjury, was released late on Thursday after Epstein's alleged madam lost the legal fight to have it remain under seal.
The massage testimony was part of an excerpt from a July 2016 deposition in a long-settled defamation lawsuit brought against her by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.
In the excerpt, Giuffre's lawyer David Boies asked Maxwell whether she gave massages to anyone other than Epstein at any of the financier's properties.
'First of all, I never said I gave Mr Epstein a massage. I don't give massages,' Maxwell responded, prompting the exchange included in her indictment.
Ghislaine Maxwell denied under oath ever giving her ex Jeffrey Epstein or anyone else a massage, according to newly unsealed testimony the British socialite had been fighting to keep sealed
The attorney said: 'Let's just tie that down. It is your testimony that you've never given anybody a massage?'
'I have not given anyone a massage,' Maxwell responded.
'You never gave Mr Epstein a massage, is that your testimony?'
'That is my testimony.'
The excerpt is the basis for part of a perjury charge in a six-count indictment charging Maxwell with helping Epstein recruit three teenage girls for sex from 1994 to 1997.
The perjury charge, one of two in Maxwell's indictment, also covered Maxwell's denying knowledge of whether Epstein possessed sex toys, or had sex in the 1990s and 2000s with anyone other than herself and two other women.
Federal prosecutors have alleged that Maxwell lied about giving massages.
The excerpt is the basis for part of a perjury charge in a six-count indictment charging Maxwell with helping Epstein recruit three teenage girls for sex from 1994 to 1997. Maxwell (pictured in a court sketch) was arrested last year and her trial is scheduled to start in July
In addition to perjury, Maxwell is accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse and in some cases taking part in the assaults. She was arrested in July last year has pleaded not guilty to the charges
Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, groomed victims by asking them to give him massages.
Maxwell's lawyers had been fighting to keep her testimony under seal.
Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, groomed victims by asking them to give him massages.
They argued that prosecutors obtained the deposition illegally and that releasing the testimony would make getting it suppressed harder because prosecutors could claim it became public anyway.
US District Judge Loretta Preska, however, ruled on Monday that Maxwell had only a 'minimal' privacy interest in the 20-line excerpt and that she could discuss suppressing it with the Manhattan judge in the criminal case.
'It does not relate to private sexual activity of consenting adults, but only to massages,' Preska wrote in her ruling.
'Any private interest she has in sealing this portion of testimony does not outweigh the presumption of public access that attaches to it.'
In addition to perjury, Maxwell is accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse and in some cases taking part in the assaults.
She was arrested in July last year has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Maxwell, who remains in custody in New York, will stand trial in July.
Maxwell has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New York since July 2020 when she was arrested for allegedly procuring girls as young as 14. She has denied all charges
The 20-line testimony, which led to the 58-year-old being charged with perjury, was released late on Thursday after Epstein's alleged madam lost the legal fight to have it remain under seal.
The massage testimony was part of an excerpt from a July 2016 deposition in a long-settled defamation lawsuit brought against her by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.
In the excerpt, Giuffre's lawyer David Boies asked Maxwell whether she gave massages to anyone other than Epstein at any of the financier's properties.
'First of all, I never said I gave Mr Epstein a massage. I don't give massages,' Maxwell responded, prompting the exchange included in her indictment.
Ghislaine Maxwell denied under oath ever giving her ex Jeffrey Epstein or anyone else a massage, according to newly unsealed testimony the British socialite had been fighting to keep sealed
The attorney said: 'Let's just tie that down. It is your testimony that you've never given anybody a massage?'
'I have not given anyone a massage,' Maxwell responded.
'You never gave Mr Epstein a massage, is that your testimony?'
'That is my testimony.'
The excerpt is the basis for part of a perjury charge in a six-count indictment charging Maxwell with helping Epstein recruit three teenage girls for sex from 1994 to 1997.
The perjury charge, one of two in Maxwell's indictment, also covered Maxwell's denying knowledge of whether Epstein possessed sex toys, or had sex in the 1990s and 2000s with anyone other than herself and two other women.
Federal prosecutors have alleged that Maxwell lied about giving massages.
The excerpt is the basis for part of a perjury charge in a six-count indictment charging Maxwell with helping Epstein recruit three teenage girls for sex from 1994 to 1997. Maxwell (pictured in a court sketch) was arrested last year and her trial is scheduled to start in July
In addition to perjury, Maxwell is accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse and in some cases taking part in the assaults. She was arrested in July last year has pleaded not guilty to the charges
Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, groomed victims by asking them to give him massages.
Maxwell's lawyers had been fighting to keep her testimony under seal.
Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, groomed victims by asking them to give him massages.
They argued that prosecutors obtained the deposition illegally and that releasing the testimony would make getting it suppressed harder because prosecutors could claim it became public anyway.
US District Judge Loretta Preska, however, ruled on Monday that Maxwell had only a 'minimal' privacy interest in the 20-line excerpt and that she could discuss suppressing it with the Manhattan judge in the criminal case.
'It does not relate to private sexual activity of consenting adults, but only to massages,' Preska wrote in her ruling.
'Any private interest she has in sealing this portion of testimony does not outweigh the presumption of public access that attaches to it.'
In addition to perjury, Maxwell is accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse and in some cases taking part in the assaults.
She was arrested in July last year has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Maxwell, who remains in custody in New York, will stand trial in July.
Maxwell has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New York since July 2020 when she was arrested for allegedly procuring girls as young as 14. She has denied all charges