The paedophile financier’s pilot tells a court he also flew Bill Clinton and Donald Trump on the jet.
Image source, Reuters
Paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein’s long-time pilot has testified at the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell that he flew VIPs to luxury locations worldwide.
Larry Visoski, the first witness in Ms Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial, recalled flying Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Kevin Spacey.
Ms Maxwell denies the charges and says she is being used as a scapegoat for Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
But prosecutors argue the pair were “partners in crime” in sex abuse.
Ms Maxwell has been in a US jail since her arrest last year, and faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors say the British socialite, who also has US and French citizenship, recruited and groomed underage girls for her long-term companion Epstein to abuse.
Asked to described Ms Maxwell’s standing in Epstein’s operations, Mr Visoski described her as “the number two”. “Epstein was the big number one,” he told the New York court on Tuesday.
Mr Visoski served as Epstein’s pilot for over 25 years. During his testimony, prosecutors showed the jurors photographs of Epstein’s properties.
He testified that the cockpit door had always been kept closed during flights on the plane nicknamed the “Lolita Express”, and that he had never seen any sexual activity during trips.
He also recalled flying Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who says she was sexually assaulted by Prince Andrew.
The Queen’s 61-year-old second son has consistently denied the allegation.
Asked if he remembered Ms Giuffre, Mr Visoski said: “Yes. A shorter woman with dirty blonde hair. She didn’t look young. I mean, whatever you decipher is the definition of young. But she was a woman in my category.”
Asked to describe Ms Maxwell’s relationship to Epstein he said it was “more personal than business”.
“I wouldn’t characterise it as romantic,” he added.
Another woman testifying under the pseudonym “Jane” told the court that Ms Maxwell had frequently been in the room with her when she had sexual relations with Epstein while just 14 years old.
During opening arguments on Monday, the prosecutors said “Jane” had met Epstein and Ms Maxwell while attending summer camp in 1994.
Epstein had promised to fund her education but instead abused her, prosecutors said.
Ms Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of sex trafficking and other crimes.
The allegations at trial cover the period 1994 to 2004. Prosecutors allege Ms Maxwell was a “right-hand” partner for Epstein, helping to groom vulnerable teenage girls as young as 14 for abuse at his luxurious residences.
They described her as “the lady of the house” who “helped normalise abusive sexual conduct”.