A former boyfriend of a teenager who claimed to have been groped by Ghislaine Maxwell has told a jury his former partner would come out of Jeffrey Epstein’s house with $100 banknotes.
The witness, testifying under the name Shawn to prevent the identification of Maxwell accuser “Carolyn”, said he would drive the then 14-year-old to Epstein’s house in Palm Beach, Florida, because she was “too young”.
Shawn’s testimony was given as multiple images of the defendant and Epstein were released, including two of Maxwell rubbing Epstein’s toes.
Maxwell (59) is accused of luring young girls to massage rooms to be molested by the disgraced financier between 1994 and 2004.
On Tuesday, Carolyn testified to say she was paid around 300-400 US dollars after every massage she gave Epstein, and said all the encounters were sexual.
She accused British socialite Maxwell of telling her she “had a great body for Epstein and his friends”, before touching her breasts.
On Wednesday, Shawn said Carolyn told him about a woman named “Maxwell” and said the accuser “couldn’t pronounce” her first name because she had the education of a child.
Questioning the witness, Assistant United States Attorney Maurene Comey asked: “How did Jeffrey Epstein come up in that group of people?”
Shawn replied: “Virginia (Roberts) said she worked for a guy and said if (Carolyn) wanted to make money she could go and do massages.
“She could come out and give a guy a massage and he would leave her a couple of hundred dollars.”
Shawn said his then partner was “excited to make money” when she accepted the proposal by Ms Roberts.
Asked how he knew Epstein’s house was in Palm Beach, Shawn told the jury: “I didn’t have enough money to buy anything in the gas station.”
The witness told the court that Virginia Roberts and Carolyn went inside Epstein’s house on their first visit.
Ms Comey asked: “About how long were they inside?”
“An hour, an hour and five minutes.”
“When they came out, what if anything did they have with them?”
“100-dollar bills.”
“About how often did you go with Carolyn to Jeffrey Epstein’s house?”
“About every two weeks.”
Shawn said while Carolyn was going to Epstein’s house, one of three women would call his phone to schedule appointments.
After identifying one woman as “Sarah”, Shawn said of the other two women’s voices: “They were foreign to me. One was English and one sounded almost French.”
“When these three women called what did they say to you?”
“That Epstein was requesting her to work.”
“When you went with Carolyn, how did you two get to Epstein’s house?”
“At first it was cabs, but then we got a car from her mother.”
“Why couldn’t Carolyn drive herself?”
“She was too young.”
Asked how he could remember that Carolyn was given 100-dollar bills, Shawn said: “We used to cash them in at a gas station in Palm Beach because West Palm Beach wouldn’t accept 100-dollar bills.”
“Other than Epstein… did Carolyn mention interacting with anyone else?”
“There was a woman.”
“Did Carolyn tell you that woman’s name?”
“Maxwell.”
“Did Carolyn say her first name?”
“She couldn’t pronounce it. She wasn’t able because she didn’t have reading ability.”
“When Carolyn was 14 and going to Jeffrey Epstein’s house, could you describe her education?”
“She was a child.”
Shawn confirmed that Carolyn was given a gift of lingerie by Epstein.
The full indictment against Maxwell lists six charges: conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; sex trafficking conspiracy; and sex trafficking of a minor.
The defendant is further alleged to have lied under oath by hiding her participation in Epstein’s offences during a separate civil case.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
The death was ruled a suicide.
Maxwell, who has been held in a US jail since her arrest in July last year, denies all charges.
The trial continues.
