Jury to continue deliberating Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking charges after Christmas

The jury deliberating in Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial have now been sent home for the Christmas holidays.

Maxwell, labelled “dangerous” and a “predator” by prosecutors, is accused of luring vulnerable young girls to massage rooms to be molested by Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

Jurors ended their second full day of deliberations on Wednesday by requesting more transcripts of testimonies from the trial.

Rather than continuing its deliberations on Thursday, the jury will return after the Christmas holiday on December 27.

Maxwell, whose birthday is on December 25, will therefore spend her 60th birthday in prison.

She has been held in a US jail since her arrest in July last year.

US District Judge Alison J Nathan told jurors to keep themselves safe and healthy over the Christmas break as New York faces a rise in Covid-19 infections.

She said strict coronavirus measures will be in place when they resume deliberations on Monday, such as wearing hospital-grade masks.

The defence claims Maxwell is being prosecuted as a scapegoat after sex trafficking charges against Epstein were dissolved due to his death.

Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges.

His death was ruled a suicide.

Maxwell denies all charges.