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Ghislaine Maxwell declined on Friday to testify in her New York sex trafficking trial, saying that "the government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt."
The 59-year-old British socialite and longtime associate of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges related to her interactions with several teenage girls between 1994 and 2004.
When U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan told Maxwell in court on Friday that she had the right to testify in her defense or opt not to, she responded that "there is no reason for me to testify" because the government hadn't "proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt."
The defense rested its case shortly after her refusal to testify.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
About the writer
Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more