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Warning. This episode contains references to sexual situations that may
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be disturbing to some listeners. Please proceed with caution. Callarogashark Media.
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Good morning, I'm read Carter, and welcome to Celebrity Trials,
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and today we begin a two part exploration of one
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of the most shocking criminal cases of our time, a
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story of wealth, power and systematic sexual abuse that reached
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into the highest echelons of society. This is the story
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of Jeffrey Epstein and Galaine Maxwell and how their twisted
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partnership created a sex trafficking operation that exploited hundreds of
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young girls across multiple decades. This isn't just another celebrity scandal.
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This is the story of how two sophisticated predators used
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private islands, luxury homes, and elite connections to build what
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prosecutors called a criminal enterprise designed for one purpose, the
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sexual exploitation of miners. Let me paint you the picture
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of how this nightmare began. In the early nineteen nineties,
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two worlds collided in the elite social circles of New
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York City. Jeffrey Epstein, a mysterious financier with connections to
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some of the world's most powerful people and Gallaine Maxwell,
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the sophisticated daughter of British media magnate Robert Maxwell. Gallaine
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Noel Maxwell was born into privilege on December twenty fifth,
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nineteen sixty one. Born in France and raised in Oxford,
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she attended Balliol College, Oxford in the nineteen eighties and
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became a prominent member of London's social scene. Maxwell worked
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for her father, Robert Maxwell, until his death in nineteen
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ninety one. She then moved to New York City, where
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she continued living as a socialite. Accounts differ on when
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Maxwell first met am American financier Jeffrey Epstein. According to
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Epstein's former business partner, Stephen Hoffenberg, Robert Maxwell introduced his
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daughter to Epstein in the late nineteen eighties. The Times
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reported that Maxwell met Epstein in the early nineteen nineties
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at a New York party following a difficult breakup with
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count Gianfranco Chicona Mozzoni. What happened next would define both
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of their lives and destroy hundreds of others. Maxwell had
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a romantic relationship with Epstein for several years in the
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early nineteen nineties, and remained closely associated with him for
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more than twenty five years until his death in twenty nineteen,
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but the nature of their relationship was far more complex
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than a simple romance. In a two thousand and nine deposition,
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several of Epstein's household employees testified that Epstein referred to
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her as his main girlfriend, who also hired, fired, and
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supervised his staff. Starting around nineteen ninety two. She has
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also been referred to as the lady of the house
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by Epstein's staff and as his aggressive assistant. Think about
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that for a moment. This wasn't just a girlfriend or
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even a business partner. Maxwell had become the operational manager
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of Epstein's entire lifestyle, including, as we would later learn,
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his systematic abuse of miners. Here's where this story becomes
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truly horrifying. In court documents, Epstein's accusers alleged that Maxwell
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acted as a recruiter, an instructor, and in some cases,
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a participant in the abuse he practiced. From at least
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nineteen ninety four up to and including in or about
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two thousand and four, Maxwell assisted, facilitated, and participated in
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Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of minor girls by, among other things,
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helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims known
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to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of eighteen.
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The victims were as young as fourteen years old when
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they were roomed and abused by Maxwell and Epstein, both
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of whom knew that their victims were in fact miners.
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Virginia Jeffrey, who claims that Maxwell recruited her on behalf
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of Epstein when Jeffrey was a sixteen year old SPA
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attendant at mar A Lago in Palm Beach, where Epstein
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has a home, said much of her grooming came from
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Maxwell herself. The training started immediately, she said in a
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video interview with The Miami Herald. It was everything down
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to how to give a blowjob, how to be quiet,
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be subservient, give Jeffrey what he wants. A lot of
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this training came from Galaine herself. Being a woman, It
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kind of surprises you that a woman could let stuff
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like that happen, not only let it happen, but to
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groom you into doing it. Let me be clear about
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what Maxwell was doing. This wasn't passive enablement. This was
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active participation in systematic child abuse. Maxwell enticed and groomed
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minor girls to be abused in multiple ways. For example,
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Maxwell at ten tempted to befriend certain victims by asking
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them about their lives, their schools, and their families, and
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taking them to the movies or on shopping trips, but
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these weren't innocent gestures. Maxwell also acclimated victims to Epstein's
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conduct simply by being present for victim interactions with Epstein,
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which put victims at ease by providing the assurance and
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comfort of an adult woman who seemingly approved of Epstein's behavior.
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Maxwell also normalized and facilitated sexual abuse for a victim
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by discussing sexual topics, undressing in front of the victim,
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being present when the victim was undressed, and encouraging the
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victim to massage Epstein as Maxwell and Epstein intended. These
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grooming behaviors left minor victims vulnerable and susceptible to sexual
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abuse by Epstein. Maxwell was then present for certain sexual
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encounters between minor victims and Epstein, such as interactions where
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a minor victim was undressed, and all ultimately was present
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for sex acts perpetrated by Epstein on minor victims. That
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abuse included sexualized massages during which a minor victim was
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fully or partially nude, as well as group sexualized massages
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of Epstein involving a minor victim where Maxwell was present.
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In some instances, Maxwell participated in the sexual abuse of
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minor victims. But here's what makes this operation truly systematic.
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Maxwell and Epstein also paid certain victims to recruit additional
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girls to be similarly abused by Epstein. In this way,
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Maxwell and Epstein created a network of underage victims for
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Epstein to sexually exploit. Think about the psychological manipulation involved.
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These were vulnerable young girls, often from troubled backgrounds, who
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were made to feel special by sophisticated adults with tremendous
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wealth and connections. They were groomed to believe they were
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part of something exclusive, then systematically abused, and finally turned
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town to recruiters themselves. Additionally, Epstein offered to help some
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victims by paying for travel and or educational opportunities, and
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Maxwell encouraged certain victims to accept Epstein's assistance. As a result,
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victims were made to feel indebted and believed that Maxwell
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and Epstein were trying to help them back in a moment,
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what made this operation. Particularly insidious was how Maxwell and
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Epstein used their elite connections to legitimize their behavior Endlessly scrutinized, studied,
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and speculated over for years, Flight records from Jeffrey Epstein's
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private airplanes have been the subject of debate, conjecture, litigation,
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and conspiracy theory. Documenting flights from between nineteen ninety one
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through the beginning of two thousand and six, the logs
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offer perspective about the cadre of politicians, musicians, models, and
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financiers who took to the skies on Epstein's plane. Former
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President Bill Clinton appears on the flight logs multiple times.
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On one of those trips, Clinton was a passenger along
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with supermodel Naomi Campbell. On September twenty one, two thousand
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and two, Epstein took Clinton, actor Kevin Spacey, and others
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from JFK Airport to an airport in the Azores, the
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autonomous Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. Attorney Alan Dershowitz,
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credited with helping Epstein get the notorious plea deal in
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Florida in two thousand and eight, flew on his former
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client's plane several times between nineteen ninety eight and two
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thousand and five. But here's what's crucial to understand. These
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associations provided cover for Maxwell and Epstein's operation. When victims
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saw powerful, famous people socializing with Epstein and Maxwell, it
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reinforced the the idea that these were trustworthy, important people.
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It added legitimacy to what was actually a criminal enterprise.
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Prince Andrew's association with Epstein and Maxwell became particularly controversial.
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In testimony, Jeffrey claimed that she was directed by Maxwell
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to give erotic massages and engage in sexual activities with
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Prince Andrew, among others. The Prince has denied the allegations.
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But perhaps the most shocking aspect of this story is
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how the justice system initially failed these victims. Accusations against
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Epstein have long been obscured by legal maneuvers, such as
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a controversial non prosecution agreement he reached in two thousand
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and seven with federal prosecutors in Florida. That plea deal
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with then US Attorney Alex Acosta exposed Epstein to state charges,
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but prevented him and any co conspirators from being prosecuted
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for federal sex crimes in Southern Florida under the deal.
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Epstein plea guilty in two thousand and eight to two
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counts of solicitation of prostitution, one with a minor under
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the age of eighteen, and was sentenced to eighteen months
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in a county jail. Eighteen months for systematically abusing dozens
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of underage girls. This wasn't justice. This was a cover
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up that enabled Epstein and Maxwell to continue their operation
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for more than a decade. The two thousand and seven
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agreement specifically mentioned that it would protect potential co conspirators,
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language that Maxwell's lawyers now argue should have prevented her
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prosecution entirely. And here's the truly infuriating part. During those
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years when Epstein and Maxwell should have been in federal prison,
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they continued abusing victims. The systematic sexual exploitation continued, protected
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by a piece of paper that valued Epstein's connections more
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than his victim's lives. It wasn't until twenty nineteen, more
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than a decade after that sweetheart plea deal, that federal
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prosecutors finally took this case seriously. And when they did,
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it was the courage of the victims that made justice possible.
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Four women testified during Maxwell's trial that Epstein abused them,
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and that Maxwell facilitated the abuse and sometimes participated in
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it as well. These weren't abstract legal arguments. These were
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real people describing real trauma that had shaped their entire lives.
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Their role was really the most significant in the trial
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by far said former federal prosecutor Moira Penza. That was
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really the crux of the government's case. Here was the
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testimony of those four victims, while being corroborated by other
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witness testimony and other evidence. Annie Farmer, one of the
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victims who testified at trial, spoke out after Maxwell's conviction.
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I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who
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need it. Even those with great power and privilege will
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be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young.
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Here's what makes the Epstein Maxwell case so particularly disturbing.
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This wasn't opportunistic abuse. This was systematic, calculated, and industrial
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in its scope. Maxwell wasn't just Epstein's girlfriend or even
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his accomplice, as prosecutors proved, She was his enabler in chief,
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the sophisticated woman who used her charm connections and maternal
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instincts to recruit vulnerable girls. Into a nightmare. The defense
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tried to paint Maxwell as a scapegoat, someone who was
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only being prosecuted because Epstein had escaped justice through suicide,
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but the evidence showed something far more sinister. Maxwell was
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an active, essential participant in every aspect of the operation.
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She recruited the victims, she trained them how to satisfy Epstein.
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She was present during abuse, She participated in abuse, and
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she helped turn victims into recruiters, expanding the operation's reach.
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What's most chilling is how Maxwell used specifically feminine tactics
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to facilcilitate male predation. She understood that young girls would
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trust an older woman in ways they might not trust
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an older man. She exploited maternal instincts and feminine trust
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to deliver children to a monster. Tomorrow, in Part two,
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we'll explore how this house of cards finally collapsed. Will
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examine the evidence that convicted Maxwell, her desperate attempts to
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escape responsibility, and the recent controversy over the so called
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client list that has divided the Trump administration and outraged
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his supporters. We'll also look at why Maxwell's conviction raises
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troubling questions about who else knew what was happening, and
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why so many powerful people seem to have escaped consequences
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for their associations with this criminal enterprise. That's part one
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of our Jeffrey Epstein series I'm Red Carter. Remember when
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the powerful prey on the vulnerable, it takes extraordinary courage
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from victims to bring them down. Justice isn't always swift,
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but it's absolutely riveting. See you tomorrow for part two.