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Ghislaine Maxwell jury begins deliberations after closings

Jeffrey Epstein Maxwell Trial
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell is seated at the defense table while watching testimony of witnesses during her trial, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

A jury began deliberations Monday, the jury is to consider whether Ghislaine Maxwell is a dangerous predator who recruited teens to be sexually abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein — as prosecutors put it — or the “innocent woman” a defense attorney described.

According to the Associated Press, the jury went home after less than an hour on Monday and will return Tuesday at 9 a.m.

During the trial, the jury heard the testimony of four women about how when they were teens they were alleged victims of a sex-abuse scheme devised by Maxwell and Epstein.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan federal jail cell in August 2019 as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.

Maxwell has been held without bail since she was arrested in July 2020.

She faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted on sex trafficking and perjury charges.