+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Prosecutors called one of Trump's Mar-a-Lago employees to testify at Ghislaine Maxwell's trial

Dec 9, 2021, 01:13 IST
Insider
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
  • Janine Gill, HR director at Mar-a-Lago, testified during the Ghislaine Maxwell trail on Wednesday.
  • Gill confirmed Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre's father worked at former president Donald Trump's Florida club.
Advertisement

An employee at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort testified during Ghislaine Maxwell's trial on Wednesday.

Prosecutors have accused Maxwell of sex-trafficking girls with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, sexually abusing them herself, and lying about her actions in a deposition. The allegations in the indictment focus on activity between 1997 and 2004, and concern misconduct against four accusers, who were as young as 14 at the time.

Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to all charges against her.

On Wednesday, prosecutors called Janine Gill, the human resources director at Mar-a-Lago who has worked at the Florida resort for 15 years, to the stand in order to bolster the account of another witness in the case.

Juan Alessi, a former house manager at Epstein's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, previously testified that Virginia Giuffre, then known as Virginia Roberts, spent time at the house, and that Maxwell picked her up at Mar-a-Lago.

Advertisement

While Giuffre is not an accuser for the purposes of the ongoing Maxwell trial, she previously accused Epstein and Maxwell of sexual misconduct and trafficking her in civil lawsuits. Giuffre said in a July 2020 deposition that she was 16 when she first met Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in the summer of 2000.

Perjury charges that prosecutors filed against Maxwell stem from an allegation that Maxwell lied in a deposition for one of Giuffre's lawsuits. Those charges will be tried at a later date.

Gill testified on Wednesday that a man named Sky Roberts was hired to work at the club on April 11, 2000, as a maintenance worker, making $12 an hour. Prosecutors submitted a birth certificate showing that Giuffre's father is Sky Roberts.

Virginia Giuffre speaks to reporters in August 2019.Associated Press/Bebeto Matthews

Trump's name has been brought up multiple times at the trial of Maxwell, a business associate and former girlfriend of his one-time-friend Epstein, who died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019.

A Maxwell accuser, who testified under the pseudonym "Jane," said Epstein took her to Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump when she was 14. It was around that time that Jane testified Epstein and Maxwell started sexually abusing her. Another accuser, who testified under the pseudonym "Kate," said Epstein and Maxwell would often namedrop Trump, among other famous friends.

Advertisement

Neither Jane nor Kate accused Trump of any wrongdoing.

While Trump has distanced himself from Epstein, who he once called a "terrific guy" in a New York Magazine interview, in recent years, several photos exist of the pair.

From left to right: Donald Trump, Melania Trump (then Melania Knauss), Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell are seen at Mar-a-Lago in February 2000.Getty
When a reporter asked Trump about Maxwell's arrest in July 2020, he said he had "met her numerous times over the years."

"I just wish her well frankly," Trump said.

The following month, he repeated that sentiment in an interview with Axios' Jonathan Swan.

"She's now in jail, so yeah, I wish her well," Trump said. "I would wish you well. I would wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty."

Advertisement

Insider reached out to the Trump Organization and Trump's post-presidency office for comment on Wednesday, but did not immediately receive a response.

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article