The first accuser who testified at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial on Tuesday allegedly called the defendant’s defense attorney a “c**t.”
The accuser, “Jane,” testified that convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein had sexual contact with her 14-year-old self during a late November testimony. She told the court that she met Epstein and Maxwell at the Interlochan Arts Camp where they claimed to be benefactors of the camp and awarded scholarships to students.
Prosecutor Alison Moe said Jane reportedly spoke to another witness—her brother Brian— on the phone where she told him she was shown a camp application during her testimony, according to the New York Post. She then reportedly called defense attorney Laura Menninger a “c**t,” a derogatory term for female genitalia.
Menninger raised the issue before the court, where prosecutors informed the courtroom of the alleged exchange between the two witnesses, the outlet reported. She argued that the prosecution is not fully aware of everything discussed in Jane and Brian’s discussion.
“Part of my concern is that those are the two things that Brian volunteered to them,” Menninger said. “They don’t know exactly what happened in this conversation.”
The Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse stands in lower Manhattan where the trial for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell for child sex-trafficking continues on December 03, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Maxwell, the former accomplice of Epstein, stands trial in Manhattan federal court for her alleged involvement in leading underage girls to engage in sexual acts with Epstein. She pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking of minors, enticement and conspiracy to entice minors to travel and engage in illicit sex acts, and grooming and luring minors into sex acts.
As the trial proceeded on Dec. 1, Menninger pressed Jane on her claims that she had come from an underprivileged background by showing an application to attend the Interlochen summer camp in Michigan, according to the New York Times (NYT). She then read a quote from a recommendation that stated that Jane and her two brothers came from “a strong, loving family background.”
She also read that attending the camp cost $4,000 per child and that Jane’s family never applied for any scholarships, the NYT reported. (RELATED: Do Not ‘Look At His Eyes,’ Ghislaine Maxwell Allegedly Warned About Epstein)
Jane previously testified that Epstein took her to a pool by hand and pulled his pants down to “masturbate on her.” Maxwell allegedly told the then-14-year-old that he liked to be massaged.
“He pulled me on top of himself and proceeded to masturbate on me and then he got up and went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up,” she said. “I was terrified and I felt gross and ashamed.”
Menninger cast doubt on Jane’s testimony after the witness admitted to not remembering whether Maxwell had ever touched or kissed her, the outlet reported. She further pressed Jane on her career as a soap opera actress, pointing to her job as someone “who plays a fictional character” and is prone to “melodramatic or sentimental treatment.”
“Acting on television is not real and testifying in court is real and is the truth,” Jane said in response.
Another witness, identified under the pseudonym “Kate,” testified that Maxwell lured her into Epstein’s circle to recruit other girls to perform oral sex.