Maxwell and Epstein were "partners in crime," says prosecutor

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were “partners in crime” in the sexual abuse of minors, a prosecutor said on Monday as Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial began in New York.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerant charges that Maxwell and Epstein worked together to lure in teenaged girls to “so-called massages,” the AP reported. According to the complaint, the victims were groomed by Maxwell, who gave them money and gifts, and “helped normalize abusive sexual conduct.”

“She was in on it from the start. The defendant and Epstein lured their victims with a promise of a bright future, only to sexually exploit them,” said Pomerantz.

“The defendant was the lady of the house,” she added, describing how Maxwell “was involved in every detail of Epstein’s life."

Maxwell's attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, argued that her client being made a “scapegoat for a man who behaved badly.”

“The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, but she is not Jeffrey Epstein,” Sternheim argued, Reuters reported.

Maxwell's lawyers are expected to argue her accusers might have faulty memories caused by time and contamination "by outside information, constant media reports and other influences," the BBC reported. 

Four additional victims – in addition to their family members and former Epstein employees – are set to testify in the trial against Maxwell.

Maxwell pleaded not guilty to six counts of sex trafficking as well as other crimes allegedly committed between 1994 and 2004. She has been in a U.S. jail since her arrest last year, and faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted.

Epstein died in jail while awaiting his own trial in August 2019. His death was ruled to be a suicide.