Jeffery Epstein’s former Palm Beach house manager told the court Thursday that Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly warned that he should never look into his boss’ eyes.
Maxwell, the alleged accomplice of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, faces trial for her alleged involvement in Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls. She pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking of minors, enticement and conspiracy to entice minors to travel and engage in illegal sex acts, and grooming and luring minors into sex acts.
Juan Alessi testified before the court at Maxwell’s trial in Manhattan federal court, describing Maxwell’s role as “lady of the house” and as the “the girlfriend” of Epstein, The Guardian reported. The former house manager previously worked at Epstein’s estate from around 1990 to 2002. (RELATED: New Report Reveals Jeffrey Epstein Called His Girlfriend Right Before Death)
“Ms. Maxwell was the girlfriend of Mr. Epstein, I understand she was the lady of the house,” Alessi told the prosecution, according to the outlet. “From the day she came to the house, she right away took over, and she mentioned to me she was going to be the lady of the house. Also, she was in charge of other houses, other properties.”
“What, if anything, did Ms. Maxwell tell you about whether you could speak directly with Mr. Epstein?” Comely asked during Alessi’s testimony.
Good afternoon from New York.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial resumes with testimony from Juan Alessi, who was in charge of running Jeffrey Epstein’s house.
This morning, he told jurors Maxwell told him Epstein “didn’t like to be looked at in the eyes.”
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— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) December 2, 2021
“Only I was supposed to speak with Mr. Epstein when he asked me questions,” Alessi answered. “At the end of my stay, there was a time when she says: ‘Jeffery doesn’t like to be look at [in] the eyes. You should never look at this eyes. Just look at another part of the room and answer to him.'”
The former house manager further told the prosecution that Maxwell allegedly assisted Epstein in giving house employees instructions and tasks, the outlet reported.
Epstein was arrested and charged with one count of sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking in July 2019. A month later, he died of apparent suicide in his jail cell.
Maxwell was arrested and indicted in July 2020 for allegedly engaging in “group sexual encounters” with her former accomplice and a minor, while encouraging underage girls to give Epstein massages before participating in sexual acts. The defendant allegedly hired then-15-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre to engage in sexual encounters with Epstein.
A witness at the trial testified before the court Wednesday that Epstein took her to meet former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago when she was 14-year-old in the 1990s and sang “Happy Birthday” to journalist Mike Wallace, father of Fox News host Chris Wallace.