Ghislaine Maxwell pleaded not guilty after being charged with six counts for her alleged involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein sexual abuse case.
The British socialite's arraignment, held in Manhattan federal court, was done by video conference amid the Coronavirus pandemic. It marked Ghislaine's first formal response to the criminal charges brought against her.
According to NBC News, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe told the court their investigation is ongoing but at this point, they don't anticipate a superseding indictment in the case against Ghislaine.
She did not address one way or the other if there would be more defendants. When asked by the judge to predict how long a trial would take, Alison said the government anticipates that it would take no more than two weeks. The judge said the trial will commence on July 12, 2021 and Ghislaine must be detained before it begins.
Earlier this month, E! News obtained a federal indictment that outlined Ghislaine's charges.
The counts include conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel and engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, as well as two counts of perjury.
If convicted, she faces up to 35 years in prison.
"The charges set forth herein stem from the role of Ghislaine Maxwell, the defendant, in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein," the indictment states. "In particular, from at least in or about 1994, up to and including at least in or about 1997, Maxwell assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims know to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18. The victims were as young as 14 years old when they were groomed and abused by Maxwell and Epstein, both of whom knew that certain victims were in fact under the age of 18."
Back in August 2019, Jeffrey died by suicide in his New York City jail cell. He was arrested one month earlier and was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges at the time of his death.
He previously pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking of dozens of underage girls from at least 2002 to 2005.