Ghislaine Maxwell is avoiding having to give evidence about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew as her family says she is "too fragile" to take the stand.
Maxwell is charged with six counts alleging that she recruited, groomed, and abused four underage girls between 1994 and 2004. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and faces 80 years in prison if found guilty on all counts.
She is accused of helping financier Epstein abuse underage girls between 1994 and 2004. She denies all charges against her.
Maxwell's brother Ian previously claimed that his sister was being mistreated while being held in jail awaiting trial, describing it as a "fundamental abuse of human rights" that is "designed to break her".
Now, ahead of her defense case which opens on Thursday, December 16, a spokesperson for the Maxwell family told The Telegraph that it is "unlikely" she will testify as she is "too fragile".
By not taking the witness stand, the 59-year-old will avoid being probed about her relationship with Epstein, as well as other well-known friends who have been mentioned in the trial.
That includes Prince Andrew, who is being sued by longtime Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Guiffre, for allegedly sexually abusing her when she was just 17 years old.
The Duke of York has denied all allegations against him.
Speaking about this latest statement about Maxwell, a source told The Mirror: "Ghislaine is perfectly entitled to refuse to give evidence. It is up to the prosecution to prove their case against her with or without her testimony.
"Crucially for her defense team - whether she was fragile or not - by not having Ghislaine give evidence, it prevents the prosecution from asking her about her relationship with Epstein and others, including Prince Andrew, Donald Trump, and Bill Clinton.
"If she does take the stand, it's likely the Government would have in the box for days."
Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 at her New Hampshire home, and has since denied any involvement in the incidents of sex trafficking that her now-deceased ex-partner, Epstein, was accused of.
Epstein's final cause of death was revealed to be suicide by hanging in his jail cell in August 2019. This took place as he awaited, without the chance of bail, his trial on sex trafficking charges.
While the medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, his death had sparked numerous conspiracy theories including that he was murdered.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to all charges and faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted.