Prince Andrew named for the first time in Ghislaine Maxwell trial

Prince Andrew has been named for the first time in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, said a journalist on Tuesday.

According to Omid Scobie, Jeffrey Epstein's former pilot told the jury on Tuesday  that the Duke, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton were some of the big names that had flown on his jet, which was once nicknamed the "Lolita Express".

He said Lawrence Visoski—who's testifying for the prosecution—was asked about passengers during cross examination. 

He shared that Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker, US Senators John Glenn and George Mitchell had also been on flights but says he never saw sexual acts or underaged girls onboard.

AFP adds

The first alleged victim to testify in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell said in court Tuesday she was 14 when the late US financier Jeffrey Epstein started sexually abusing her, and that the British socialite was sometimes present and even participated.

The woman, identified by the pseudonym "Jane," explained how the 59-year-old heiress on trial in Manhattan worked with Epstein to befriend her before pressuring her into sex acts, which she recounted in grim detail.

Jane is the first of four alleged victims expected to testify in the trial of Maxwell, who is accused of grooming underage girls to be sexually exploited by Epstein, who committed suicide in a New York prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial.

The 59-year-old heiress has pleaded not guilty to six counts of enticing and transporting minors for sex. If convicted, she faces an effective life sentence.

Under questioning by US prosecutors, Jane said she met Epstein and Maxwell at a summer arts camp in Michigan in 1994, when she was 14 years old.

She said Maxwell and a terrier dog approached her while she was eating ice cream with friends.

After a while, her friends left. Epstein joined.

Jane said the pair told her they were camp benefactors.

The then teenager´s father had died of leukemia nine months earlier, she said. The family was bankrupt and had lost their home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Epstein and Maxwell told her they also lived in Palm Beach and asked for her phone number. She said she gave them her mother´s landline.

Epstein invited her and her mother to his mansion for tea a few days after she started eighth grade, telling her he likes to mentor young students, she testified.

Jane said she started visiting Epstein´s home alone. Maxwell was often present.

She said her mother was not invited on these visits that featured shopping -- including for "basic" underwear at the lingerie chain Victoria´s Secret -- movies and poolside hangouts.

She said Maxwell would frequently bring up boyfriends and sex.

"She seemed a little bit odd," Jane said. "But she was nice."

Epstein started giving Jane money to give to her mother, and paying for voice lessons.

"From the very beginning, there was a lot of bragging about how they were friends with everyone," Jane said, which included "name-dropping" to suggest their wealth and connections.