The brother of the first woman to take the stand with accusations that Ghislaine Maxwell “groomed” her for sex with Jeffrey Epstein and other powerful men when she was underage has been removed as a prosecution witness for allegedly talking with his sister about her testimony, NBC News has learned.
Brian, which is a pseudonym, was removed late Tuesday after he disclosed to prosecutors that he’d spoken with his sister and that she’d used an expletive to describe one of the defense attorneys, sources said.
While prosecutors don’t believe he broke any rules by talking to his sister, who testified as Jane, they still removed him from Wednesday’s witness list.
The development came as prosecutors were expected to wrap up their case against the British socialite two weeks ahead of schedule.
Maxwell’s trial in the Southern District of New York was initially expected to take six weeks. But on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said she will schedule a charging conference Dec. 18, which means the jury could get the case before Christmas.
Maxwell, 59, is accused of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse four underage girls, mostly in the 1990s. She has pleaded not guilty to all six charges. And so far, three of the four women have testified against her.
Prosecutors say Maxwell played a key role in procuring girls and young women for Epstein, a multimillionaire financier who was close to Ohio billionaire Leslie Wexner, buddies with Donald Trump and Britain’s Prince Andrew, and friendly with other boldface names, like former President Bill Clinton.
There are no allegations of trafficking against Clinton, Trump and Wexner.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, another woman who says the couple sexually abused and trafficked her but is not part of the Maxwell trial, has alleged in a civil lawsuit that Maxwell trafficked her to Andrew, a son of Queen Elizabeth II, when she was 17. He has denied the allegations.
Maxwell’s defense team contends she is being prosecuted because the government cannot go after Epstein, a convicted sex offender who hanged himself in a New York City jail two years ago as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
Jane testified last week that she was just 14 when Maxwell trained her how to sexually satisfy Epstein. She also testified that Epstein personally drove her to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, but did not allege any improper behavior by the future president.
Next to testify was Kate, the pseudonym for a model and musician who said she was lured into giving Epstein sexual massages when she was 17.
During one such encounter when she was about 18, Kate said, she was pressured by Maxwell into wearing a “schoolgirl” outfit.
Then Tuesday, a woman identified as Carolyn said she was a minor when she started having sex with Epstein and that Maxwell personally inspected her body.
“She came in and felt my boobs and my hips and my buttocks and said I had a great body for Mr. Epstein and his friends,” Carolyn told the court.
Tom Winter is a New York-based correspondent covering crime, courts, terrorism and financial fraud on the East Coast for the NBC News Investigative Unit.
Adam Reiss is a reporter and producer for NBC and MSNBC.
Corky Siemaszko is a senior writer for NBC News Digital.
The brother of the first woman to take the stand with accusations that Ghislaine Maxwell “groomed” her for sex with Jeffrey Epstein and other powerful men when she was underage has been removed as a prosecution witness for allegedly talking with his sister about her testimony, NBC News has learned.Brian, which is a pseudonym, was removed late Tuesday after he disclosed to prosecutors that he’d spoken with his sister and that she’d used an expletive to describe one of the defense attorneys, sources said.While prosecutors don’t believe he broke any rules by talking to his sister, who testified as Jane, they still removed him from Wednesday’s witness list.The development came as prosecutors were expected to wrap up their case against the British socialite two weeks ahead of schedule.Maxwell’s trial in the Southern District of New York was initially expected to take six weeks. But on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said she will schedule a charging conference Dec. 18, which means the jury could get the case before Christmas.Maxwell, 59, is accused of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse four underage girls, mostly in the 1990s. She has pleaded not guilty to all six charges. And so far, three of the four women have testified against her.Prosecutors say Maxwell played a key role in procuring girls and young women for Epstein, a multimillionaire financier who was close to Ohio billionaire Leslie Wexner, buddies with Donald Trump and Britain’s Prince Andrew, and friendly with other boldface names, like former President Bill Clinton.There are no allegations of trafficking against Clinton, Trump and Wexner. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, another woman who says the couple sexually abused and trafficked her but is not part of the Maxwell trial, has alleged in a civil lawsuit that Maxwell trafficked her to Andrew, a son of Queen Elizabeth II, when she was 17. He has denied the allegations.Maxwell’s defense team contends she is being prosecuted because the government cannot go after Epstein, a convicted sex offender who hanged himself in a New York City jail two years ago as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.Jane testified last week that she was just 14 when Maxwell trained her how to sexually satisfy Epstein. She also testified that Epstein personally drove her to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, but did not allege any improper behavior by the future president.Next to testify was Kate, the pseudonym for a model and musician who said she was lured into giving Epstein sexual massages when she was 17.During one such encounter when she was about 18, Kate said, she was pressured by Maxwell into wearing a “schoolgirl” outfit. Then Tuesday, a woman identified as Carolyn said she was a minor when she started having sex with Epstein and that Maxwell personally inspected her body.“She came in and felt my boobs and my hips and my buttocks and said I had a great body for Mr. Epstein and his friends,” Carolyn told the court. Tom Winter is a New York-based correspondent covering crime, courts, terrorism and financial fraud on the East Coast for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Adam Reiss is a reporter and producer for NBC and MSNBC.Corky Siemaszko is a senior writer for NBC News Digital.