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Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers scouring more than 300,000 pages of evidence from prosecutors in case linked to Jeffrey Epstein

Ghislaine MaxwellLaura Cavanaugh/Photographer: Laura Cavanaugh/Ge

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite charged with helping late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls, have received more than 300,000 pages of discovery from prosecutors in the sensational criminal case pending in federal court in New York, records show.

The eye-popping tally came in a legal filing submitted by prosecutors this week in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, where Maxwell, 58, is charged with conspiring with Epstein and others to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts; enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiring with Epstein and others to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts; transporting minors to participate in illegal sex acts, and perjury.

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Maxwell pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail. Her case and her association with Epstein — who counted US presidents, British royalty, show business heavies, and stars of academia among his friends — has generated international headlines.

Epstein died in custody last year while trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death has been ruled a suicide.

“Specifically, to date, the Government has produced approximately 328,863 pages of discovery to the defense in this case,” prosecutors wrote in a filing Wednesday in Maxwell’s case. “Those materials include, among other things, photographs, documents seized during searches, search warrants, search warrant applications, financial records, travel records, property records, phone records, law enforcement reports, and other subpoena returns.”

The government, the filing said, “is continuing the process of reviewing and preparing productions of electronic discovery materials, which include extractions of data from numerous electronic devices. The Government expects that it will meet the November 9, 2020 deadline for the completion of electronic discovery productions. Additionally, the Government recognizes that its disclosure obligations are ongoing, and the Government will continue to review the Prosecution Team Files for any additional discoverable or exculpatory materials.”

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Maxwell’s trial is tentatively scheduled for July 2021.

Prosecutors say she and Epstein groomed girls for participation in sexually abusive behavior by building a rapport with them through shopping trips, taking them to the movies, and spending time with them. As the ties strengthened, Maxwell would introduce sexualized behavior, ultimately leading to Epstein abusing the girls, sometimes with Maxwell’s participation or presence, prosecutors allege.

Authorities allege that girls were sexually assaulted in Epstein’s Manhattan residence, in his home in Palm Beach, Fla., and at a sprawling ranch in New Mexico. The indictment alleges Maxwell played a role “in the sexual abuse and exploitation of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein,” specifically three girls who were allegedly abused in the 1990s.

Maxwell has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and called some of the claims against her “absolute rubbish.”

She was arrested in June in a stately $1 million home in Bradford, N.H., that authorities say she had earlier purchased in cash through an LLC.

Her lawyers have said she “vigorously denies the charges,” adding in court papers filed in July that she maintains the support of family and friends because “they do not believe the allegations against her, which do not match the person they have known for decades.”

Material from prior Globe stories and Globe wire services was used in this report.


Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.