Prince Andrew took flight on paedo Jeffrey Epstein private plane with ‘sex slave’, 14, Ghislaine Maxwell trial hears
PRINCE Andrew took a flight on one of Jeffrey Epstein's private jets with an alleged sex slave, a court heard.
Ghislaine Maxwell's youngest accuser was today quizzed about the plane ride as she was cross examined by defence lawyers during the trial in New York.
The victim - who is testifying anonymously as Jane - was asked if she had been on a flight with Andrew, too which she responded "yes".
It is the second time in as many days that the Duke of York has been dragged into the sex abuse trial of his old friend Ghislaine.
But there are no allegations of improper behaviour by Andrew as part of this case.
Maxwell defence lawyer Laura Menninger asked: "Do you remember Prince Andrew being on a flight with you?"
Jane responded: "Yes."
Elsewhere in her testimony she also revealed that Epstein once introduced her to Donald Trump after being driven to his private resort Mar-a-Lago.
Maxwell's accuser took to the stand again for cross examination after giving testimony yesterday detailing allegations against Maxwell and Epstein.
Most read in News
The 59-year-old Brit socialite faces six charges of sexual abuse and trafficking over her alleged role in convicted sex offender Epstein's sick sexual "pyramid scheme".
Maxwell and Epstein are alleged to have lured in young girls and then abused them as they wowed their victims with their glamorous lifestyle.
Ghislaine appeared in court flanked by her sister Isabel, her brother Kevin and a small group of supporters.
And her lawyers begun the day by attempting to poke holes in Jane's account of the alleged abuse.
⚠️Click here for the latest news on Ghislaine Maxwell
The defence's strategy appears to be hinged on undermining the credibility of witness accounts, pointing out inconsistencies in their stories over the years.
The alleged victim repeatedly said she could either not recall or claimed there were errors in the initial transcription of her comments when speaking to prosecutors in 2019.
Jane was also grilled about a multimillion dollar payout she received from a compensation fund for Epstein's victims.
Sobbing, she said: "I wish I never received that money in the first place because of what happened."
Ghislaine's lawyers also quizzed her on her career as an actress, including asking if she even played a "prostitute" and if she can "cry on command".
She was also asked if she knows the difference between acting on television and testifying in court.
"This is real. I am seeking closure. I have been running from this my entire life. I want to help in whatever way I can. And maybe find some healing," Jane said.
And she added that she clearly recalls the first time Epstein abused her as it was the moment her "life would change forever".
RICH & FAMOUS
Andrew was previously named yesterday as a passenger aboard Epstein's private planes by the paedo's former pilot Lawrence Visoski.
He was name dropped alongside Trump, Bill Clinton, Chris Tucker, Kevin Spacey and others.
Prince Andrew - pictured grinning at Windsor yesterday - denies any wrongdoing over his friendship with Epstein.
And he strongly denies he slept with 17-year-old sex slave Virginia Roberts, who is alleged to have been trafficked to him at Maxwell's house in London.
Virginia's allegations are not part of the case against Maxwell, but are subject to a seperate civil suit which she has brought against the Duke.
Epstein and Maxwell rubbed shoulders with the world's rich and famous - allegedly hiding in plain sight amid a web of sordid sex abuse.
Multi-millionaire Epstein would keep a "little black book" of powerful contacts as he jetted around the world allegedly with Maxwell.
Jane testified yesterday that Maxwell and Epstein would use names like Trump and Clinton to boast about their social circle.
And she also told the court today that Epstein brought her to journalist Mike Wallace’s 80th birthday party in New York.
“I sang happy birthday,” said Jane, who would have been about 15.
Maxwell's lawyers deny all charges against her, argue she is being made a proxy for Epstein, and have painted the alleged victims as in it for the cash.
She is facing charges relating to four alleged victims, three of whom are appearing anonymously - with the one named complainant being Annie Farmer.
The prosecution however have called the Brit heiress a "dangerous predator" and said she and Epstein were “partners in crime” as she "served up" girls for him.
Maxwell, daughter of disgraced newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell, is alleged to have snared girls as young as 14 into a "nightmare" after promising them "the world".
She is accused of walking girls into Epstein's liar where she watched as he molested them - and sometimes even joined in.
Convicted sex offender Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial for further sex trafficking charges in August 2019.
She also faces two other charges of perjury over allegations she lied in a deposition in a separate civil suit, but these will be tried separately.
Maxwell was arrested suddenly in July 2020 - and has been held in prison ever since as she was deemed a flight risk.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The Prince and 'The Madam'
PRINCE Andrew says he first met Ghislaine Maxwell when he was at university - but it became a friendship that plunged the Duke into scandal.
The pair are believed to have known each other for the better part of two decades before she is alleged to have introduced him to Epstein.
She and the American financier are believed to have been dating at the time - and the Duke is believed to have subsequently struck up a friendship with Epstein.
It was a relationship that allegedly saw him make multiple visits to Epstein's homes and his private island, Little Saint James.
And during this pally period, Epstein and Ghislaine are said to have introduced the royal to the then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts.
She claims she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew - something he strongly denies.
During his infamous car crash interview on BBC Newsnight with Emily Maitlis, the Prince dropped a few key hints about his friendship with Ghislaine.
He explained he met Epstein through his "girlfriend" - Maxwell - who he had known "since she was at university in the UK".
The Duke laid out how his relationship with the paedophile was always through the prism of Ghislaine, the daughter of newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell.
Events which Epstein and Maxwell attended - such as at Windsor Castle - were normally arranged through her, with Epstein as the plus one.
And he did not comment on Maxwell's own alleged involvement in Epstein's trafficking scheme.
"If there are questions that Ghislaine has to answer, that's her problem I'm afraid, I'm not in a position to be able to comment one way or the other," he said.
Andrew did however admit to speaking her as late as 2019, but said they did not discuss Epstein.
"There wasn't anything to discuss about him because he wasn't in the news, you know, it was just… we had moved on," he said.
Ghislaine and Andrew's friendship is reported to have become more prominent in the early noughties - with him first being spotted with her and Epstein at a tennis tournament at Donald Trump's resort Mar-a-Lago in February 2000.
reports that friends claim Andrew changed his lifestyle as he became closer to Maxwell.
"Andrew’s a very poor judge of character, easily impressed," a source was reported to have said in the Evening Standard.
"He’s gone from this couch potato to man about town, with nothing better to do than go from one holiday to the next."
Ghislaine and Andrew were pictured together at various events in the 00s.
Her and Epstein attending functions such as a shooting weekend at Sandringham in 2000 and Princess Beatrice's 18th birthday in 2006.
And the most infamous picture detailing a link between Andrew and Ghislaine was taken at her London townhouse in 2002.
It shows the Duke with his arm around Virginia Roberts while the socialite smiles in the background - the pic was allegedly taken by Epstein.
Andrew has since suggested the photo is fake.
"Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don't recollect that photograph ever being taken," he said.