Court agrees to delay testimony of Jeffrey Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell in civil suit

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, has been granted at least a temporary reprieve from having to respond to questions in a civil lawsuit that alleges she committed sexual battery against a teenage girl, a federal magistrate judge ruled on Friday.

Maxwell, who has been accused in several lawsuits of facilitating or participating in Epstein's abuse of girls and young women, sought the delay because of an ongoing federal criminal investigation into Epstein's alleged co-conspirators and because a victims' compensation fund proposed by Epstein's estate is said to be nearing final approval.

"I'm permitting her not to respond to [written questions] and not to have her deposition," Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman said in her ruling from the bench. "Not forever, but at least long enough to let us know whether the claims process is likely to go forward."

Freeman made her ruling in a lawsuit filed against Maxwell and Epstein's estate last November by Annie Farmer. Farmer alleges that she was recruited and groomed by Epstein and Maxwell in 1996, and that Maxwell sexually assaulted her at Epstein's New Mexico ranch when Farmer was 16.

"Annie was extremely distressed and afraid. She was a child in a massive ranch in New Mexico, away from her family in Arizona, and isolated from any source of help. She was alone with Epstein and Maxwell," Farmer's complaint says.

An attorney for Farmer argued against the delay, noting the uncertainty surrounding the potential length of the criminal investigation.

"We have no indication of any time frame with respect to ... how long that investigation could go on," said Sigrid McCawley, the attorney for Farmer and four other victims suing Epstein's estate. "And to not be able to get discovery and ask Miss Maxwell questions ... that puts us in handcuffs with respect to being able to establish our claims."

Responding to those concerns, Freeman said she had "no desire to have this drag out" and asked to be updated in mid-June on the status of the investigation and the victims' claims program.

Maxwell, 58, has not been seen in public in several months and her whereabouts are unknown. She has denied Farmer's claims and the allegations that she facilitated Epstein's alleged crimes.

"She absolutely denies that she participated in this or any other sexual abuse or trafficking or assault, and no court, judge or jury has ever determined that she has," wrote Maxwell's attorney Laura Menninger in a letter to the court this week.

Menninger also claimed that the litigation was taking a financial toll on Maxwell.

"Unlike the estate, she is not a multi-millionaire and must self-fund her defense," she wrote.

In March, Maxwell filed her own lawsuit against the late financier's estate seeking reimbursement of her legal fees and personal security costs. She claims that Epstein had repeatedly made "clear and unambiguous" promises to always support her financially, according to her complaint.

Epstein died by suicide in jail last August, according to the New York City medical examiner, one month after his arrest on child sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Epstein pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In court filings in the U. S. Virgin Islands, Farmer has indicated a willingness to take part in the voluntary claims program if it moves forward. Nearly 70 other alleged victims have also expressed an interest in participating in t... (Read more)

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