Thread by @KlasfeldReports

Good afternoon from New York.

The government just called the witness known by the pseudonym "Jane." Her story loomed large during the prosecution's opening statement.

Epstein's pilot remembered her as the girl with the "piercing powder blue eyes."

lawandcrime.com/live-trials/gh…

Judge Nathan just instructed the courtroom sketch artists not to depict her.

Reminder:

The U.S. Attorney's office has requested that reporters observe journalism ethics norms not to ID people who say they're survivors of sexual assault.

"Jane" just said that she was sexually assaulted by Epstein "more than once" when she was 14 years old.

Asked who was most frequently in the room when she says Jeffrey Epstein sexually assaulted her, she replies: "Ghislaine Maxwell."

A photograph of her at the age of 13 is submitted under seal.

She testifies about her father's death from leukemia, her family's economic difficulties and then pivots to her studies at Interlochen, a renowned arts academy in Michigan.

(Epstein's pilot talked about this camp in the morning session. Prosecutors alluded to it in openings.)

"Jane" is describing meeting Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein for the first time.

"Jane," describing her thoughts the first time she metEpstein and Maxwell:

"They seemed very friendly. I thought they were a married couple. They seemed very inquisitive."

Asked how she would go to Epstein's house, "Jane" says: "Jeffrey would send his chauffeur for me."

Q: Did you have a driver's license at the time?
A: No.

"Jane" recalls visiting Epstein's pool and seeing "at least four women and Ghislaine," remembering them being "topless."

"Some" of them were naked, she said.

She recalls Maxwell telling her:

"Once you've fucked them, you can always fuck them again because they've been grandfathered in."

"Jane" recalls laughing because she didn't know what the word "grandfathered" meant.

"Jane" gives some examples of famous people they boasted about being associated with: "Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Mike Wallace."

She says she was 14 years old when she first had sexual contact with Jeffrey Epstein.

Q: Can you describe to the jury what happened when he took you inside the pool house?

She says he pulled his sweatpants down, pulled her on top of him, "proceeded to masturbate on me" and then left.

"I was frozen with fear," she says. "I had never seen a penis before."

Another instance, she says that Epstein and Maxwell started to fondle each other and casually giggling about it in front of her.

"Jane" says she was 14 at the time.

Asked how Epstein liked to be massaged, "Jane" says that he liked to be massaged "hard" — "twisting his nipples hard, rubbing his feet hard," she says.

"Jane": "It's all these mixed emotions when you're 14. You don't know what is going on."

"He would touch my breasts. He would touch my vagina."

Q: Did you touch Epstein's body?
A: Yes.

Q: Where did you touch his body?
A: Everywhere.

The prosecutor, apologizing for having to ask the q-, asks about Epstein and sex toys.

"Jane": "He liked to use vibrators, which were of different sizes. He liked to use the back massagers, which were really painful."

"He would put it on my vagina, even if I said that it hurt."

"Jane" says that other people were sometimes present during her abuse.

"She would start taking her clothes off, and Jeffrey would get on the massage table." And it would turn into this "orgy."

"Jane" testifies that she was also abused in New York.

"If it wasn't an orgy in the massage room, it was in Jeffrey's bedroom," where she says she would typically be alone with him, "Jane" says.

This abuse also happened when she was 14, 15 and 16, she adds.

She gets audibly emotional saying: "I felt my heart sinking into my stomach."

Asked why, she voice cracks as she replies: "Because I didn't want to see him."

Brief, 10-minute recess.

She said her mother was "enamored" of this idea that "these wealthy, affluent people took an interest in me."

"They must think I'm special, and I should be grateful about the attention that I'm receiving."

She says she didn't tell her mother about any sexual abuse because she felt ashamed, thought it was her fault, and was in a household when you didn't speak unless spoken to.

"I was afraid that I would be in trouble if I said something," she says.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe asks her if she considered self-harm.

She replies yes, her voice cracking as she describes things seeming "hopeless."

She spoke to a school guidance counselor about her sadness, she said.

She said her mother slapped her and told her she shouldn't tell anyone about her feelings and what's going on at home.

"Jane" about Maxwell and Epstein's attention: "Initially, I felt special. I didn't have much support or attention at home."

Asked about the long-term impacts of her experiences with Epstein and Maxwell, "Jane" asks: "How do you navigate a healthy relationship with a broken compass?"

"I didn't know what real love was supposed to look like."

"It ruined my self-esteem, my self-worth," she adds later.

"Jane," on why she is testifying anonymously:

"Victim shaming is still very present until this day."

Cross-examination begins

The first question, summarized, is: You waited 20 years to report to law enforcement?

The defense attorney is asking a series of questions about where "Jane" lived and where she went to school.

She appears to be trying to undercut testimony about her family's financial struggles when she says she met Maxwell and Epstein.

Court adjourns for the evening.

Cross-examination continues on Wednesday.

ICYMI today's coverage:

Here's my write-up of "Jane's" grueling and emotional testimony—up to the start of her cross-examination.

It continues on Wednesday, when I'll continue to cover it in real time.

lawandcrime.com/live-trials/gh… via @lawcrimenews