Ghislaine Maxwell pleads not guilty to new sex-trafficking charges at her first court appearance since her arrest

• Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, pleaded not guilty to new charges.
• Friday marked her first court appearance since her arrest in July.
• She faces new charges of sex trafficking a minor and of sex-trafficking conspiracy.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, pleaded not guilty to a set of new sex-trafficking charges at an arraignment on Friday afternoon.

Maxwell was originally charged with helping Epstein recruit, groom, and sexually abuse girls in the 1990s, but a superseding indictment last month tacked on charges of sex trafficking a minor and of sex-trafficking conspiracy. Maxwell had pleaded not guilty to the original charges as well.

The new indictment alleged that Maxwell recruited and trafficked a 14-year-old, identified only as "Minor Victim-4," from 2001 to 2004.

Federal prosecutors accused Maxwell of grooming the girl by asking about "her family and other aspects of her life," "discussing sexual topics," and being present while the girl was nude in the massage room of Epstein's home in Palm Beach, Florida.

The indictment said the girl provided nude massages to Epstein multiple times over three years, during which Epstein "engaged in multiple sex acts." It alleged that Maxwell and other Epstein associates paid the girl hundreds of dollars in cash.

Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail during the summer of 2019, weeks after he was arrested on sex-trafficking charges.

Friday was the first time Maxwell appeared in court in person since her arrest in July.

Maxwell spoke briefly, responding with "Yes, your honor," and "I have, your honor," when Judge Alison Nathan asked whether she had received and read a copy of the indictment against her.

She and her lawyers have tried repeatedly to persuade Nathan to release her on bail, but the judge has denied her each time, citing concerns that she could be a flight risk.

Maxwell's lawyers have called the conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn "Kafkaesque" and "fitting for Hannibal Lecter," alleging that Maxwell has been unable to sleep, served inadequate food and water, and prevented from effectively preparing her defense.

Prosecutors pushed back on those claims and said Maxwell kept her cell "very dirty" and didn't flush her toilet.