Ghislaine Maxwell's Lawyers Fabricated Her History of Abuse Before She Even Met Jeffery Epstein

Ghislaine Maxwell was Jeffrey Epstein's British accomplice in his sex trafficking business. After multiple victims testified they had been abused by the duo as minors, the British socialite was convicted of the crime in December 2021. In the aftermath, her attorneys looked for a way out and laid the groundwork for painting her as a "victim" of her abusive father who turned into a traumatized woman susceptible to Epstein's influence. 

Robert Maxwell, a Czechoslovak-born publishing titan, rose to fame in business and political endeavors. The family often hung out with society's "prominent" figures and the wealth flowed in abundantly. But, despite a life of affluence, the family dynamics were unbearably tormenting. Ghislaine's attorney argued that the patriarch inflicted physical and mental trauma on his client. Her legal team alleged he also "employed corporal punishment on his children," per The Guardian.

"The dressing down was always painful in the extreme with everyone around the table feeling uncomfortable. Mr Maxwell, a man of large physical stature with a booming voice, would explode, threaten, and rant at the children until they were reduced to pulp," Ghislaine's attorney continued. "Mr Maxwell was relentless, with children ending up in tears, punishments being doled out, and the whole family in utter distress." At age eight, she was sent to a boarding school.

"The 1970s were difficult and demanding years for the family marred by Mr Maxwell's endless battle of lawsuits and financial ruin," claimed lawyers. Losing all that he had built made him worse and in one instance, he brutally "took the hammer and banged on Ghislaine's dominant hand, leaving it severely bruised and painful for weeks to come." The patriarch mysteriously died in a boating accident which led to the family's reputation spiraling again. 

Despite all the pressure, the convict excelled in school and university. However, due to Ghislaine's abusive past, she became susceptible to powerful and dominant men. For this reason, her lawyers argued, she neither questioned Epstein nor disassociated herself from his immoral dealings. Several of her siblings affirmed, "Her relationship with Epstein began at a moment of extreme vulnerability [in] Ghislaine's life after the tragic death of our father. She became over-dependent on [our father's] approval and mood swings," adding that this led to her "becoming very vulnerable to abusive and powerful men who would be able to take advantage of her innate good nature." 

"It is striking that Ghislaine did not show any perverse behavior before she met Epstein. Nor did she show any after leaving him," claimed another Maxwell family member. "The effect of our father's psychologically abusive treatment of her foreshadowed Epstein's own ability to exploit, manipulate and control her." 

Epstein was among Florida's famous names who ran several mysterious businesses. While he sat with the elites, Maxwell carried herself as the untouchable "lady of the house." However, it wasn't until 2006 that police learned of his sex-trafficking racket and his private island dubbed 'The Pedophile Island.' Ghislaine is currently serving 20 years in prison for the sex crime, Epstein however, reportedly killed himself in jail awaiting his trial in August 2019.

From Florida prison, the British socialite confessed to senior international interviewer Daphne Barak, "If I could go back today, I would avoid meeting him, and I would say that that would be the greatest mistake I've ever made," per CBS News.