Prosecution rests in Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking trial

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors rested their case Friday in the trial of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who's facing sex-trafficking charges for allegedly helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.

The decision to rest came after 10 days of testimony in which prosecutors questioned multiple women who accused Maxwell of serving as an intermediary between them and Epstein. The court heard testimony from the last of the four accusers Friday -- Annie Farmer.

Farmer, 42, testified she first met Epstein when she was 16 years old. Her sister had been working for him and he offered to help Farmer get into college. She said he took the two sisters to a movie in New York and "caressed" her hand and "rubbed" her leg, the BBC reported.

"I felt sick to my stomach," Farmer said. "It wasn't something that I was at all expecting."

Farmer said she later met Maxwell at Epstein's ranch in New Mexico, where she said she was expecting to attend an event for college-bound students. She said she was the only student there.

Farmer testified that Maxwell instructed her on how to give massages to Epstein. She said Maxwell forcing her to undress and groping her breasts.

"I felt very uncomfortable. I wanted to stop."

Defense lawyers said Farmer's description of events was unreliable because she couldn't produce any evidence of what happened, The New York Times reported.

Maxwell, 59, is expected to testify in her defense next week.

She pleaded not guilty to charges she procured underage girls for Epstein, her former boyfriend. She faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Epstein died in jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on similar charges.