[Summary c/o The Independent]

Finance executive Daniel Besselsen to return to the court to give evidence Daniel Besselsen will return to the stand on day four of the trial. The finance executive at the Interlochen Center for the Arts the nonprofit organisation behind the summer camp where witness “Jane” said she first met Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein will give evidence on Thursday.

Mr Besselsen provided records which comprised donor letters confirming Epstein and Maxwell’s relationship to the camp. These included one addressed to Maxwell saying that a lodge had been reserved for the use of Epstein’s in August of 1994.

It is thought that this is where the couple met Jane. Epstein had funded a two-bedroom lodge, known as the Jeffrey Epstein Scholarship Lodge, at Interlochen in northern Michigan where parents, donors and other guests could stay. The lodge’s name has now been changed to the Green Lake Lodge.

Day four of the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial will begin on Thursday morning, and the 59-year-old socialite’s second accuser is expected to take the stand. Annie Farmer is the only one of Ms Maxeell’s four accusers who will testify without a pseudonym.

Ms Farmer, a 42-year-old psychotherapist, claims she was flown to Jefrey Epstein’s New Mexico ranch in 1996 at the age of 16 where she was groomed and given sexualised massages. Ms Farmer has recounted the alleged abuse for the Netflix documentary Filthy Rich, and in numerous media interviews over the years.

During the defense’s opening statement, Bobbi Sternheim said Ms Maxwell met with Ms Farmer only once in Santa Fe.

“You should wonder why she is even a part of this case. Because from our perspective, what happened in New Mexico is not illegal conduct under the terms of this indictment,” Ms Sternheim told the jury on Monday.

Ms Sternheim said Ms Farmer had received $1.5 million from a victim’s compensation fund.

New witness: Paul Kane of New York’s Professional Children’s School Day four of the trial begins with a new witness — Paul Kane, director of finance of New York’s Professional Children’s School. The school is an independent day school on West 60th St in Manhattan serving grades six to 12. (Noted Alumni includes Uma Thurman, Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson and many more)

Mr Kane is asked by the prosecution to identify a document, which he recognises as an enrollment application for a student. Asked what happens when such a form is received, he says they contact the family by phone and then invite them for a tour of the school and a conversation.

Without mentioning the name of the student on the application, Mr Kane is asked what grade the person on the form was applying for, to which he replies: “12th grade, due to a move to New York.” Listed as the person of financial responsibility on the form is Mr Jeffrey Epstein.

The defence question Mr Kane and ask if he has any idea whether Epstein paid the fees. Mr Kane says he does not. Asked whether the mother is listed as unemployed, Mr Kane replies that the form says she is self-employed as an interior decorator.

As the exhibit is sealed, only the jury, judge and legal teams have access to the names on the forms. It is also evident that the names of the listed agent and prior principal are also on the form in addition to the mother, student, and Epstein.

New witness: Dr Lisa Rocchio. Dr Lisa Rocchio is a psychotherapist who acts as an expert witness in the fields of traumatic stress and dissociation, intimate partner violence, rape and sexual assault, victimisation, discrimination, and harassment. She has been brought in by the prosecution to discuss grooming.

Dr Rocchio defines grooming. After straightforward questioning that established that Dr Rocchio had not interviewed anyone connected with the case and that her pay does not depend on the outcome of the trial, she was simply asked to define “grooming”.

“Strategies to get children into sex.” She says she has seen examples in the Boy Scouts through camping trips, and in other cases through gifts such as jewellery to make a child feel special.

Asked how common it is for a child to be repeatedly abused by the person, she replies that it is very common and that it is usually someone close to the child. In terms of the environment in which grooming takes place, she says that the perpetrator develops trust with people around the child such as the parents.

Dr Rocchio adds that victims are not likely to report abuse to the police and that the longer-term impact of the abuse is that they are at higher risk of “adverse outcomes”. There are no further questions from the prosecution. Judge Nathan calls for the morning break.

Neither of today’s prosecution witnesses has mentioned Ghislaine Maxwell.

Dr Rocchio is speaking in general terms about the definition of child sexual grooming — which victims have accused Ms Maxwell of, in addition to participating in the abuse — but has not talked specifically about this case.

Mr Kane’s testimony established that Epstein was financially responsible for the tuition of an unnamed student transferring to a New York private school. The jury is able to see the relevant documents and names, but they are not publicly available.

This builds a picture around the evidence of the other witnesses and victims, and it must be remembered that there are still at least three more accusers still to testify, and this trial is scheduled to run for six weeks.

In an objection studded round of questioning, Ms Maxwell’s lawyer quizzed Dr Rocchio regarding what might impair someone’s memory of an incident. Ms Maxwell’s lawyer questioned Dr Rocchio about what constitutes grooming of a child, asking: “My grandfather liked to take me to the Bronx Zoo. Was that grooming?”

Dr Rocchio is clear that grooming occurs in five stages: obtaining access to the victim; isolating them for abuse; engaging in deception to build trust/attachment; desensitising the victim to sexual talk/touch; process of control, to allow continuation of abuse and prevent disclosure.

New witness: Juan Patricio Alessi. The prosecution has called a new witness, Juan Patricio Alessi, originally of Quito, Ecuador, but a Florida resident since early 1984. He worked for a wealthy family in Palm Beach as a maintenance contractor. Mr Alessi then went to work for Epstein as a housekeeper, having met him while working on billionaire Les Wexner’s mother’s house, he says. He had a room in the house at Palm Beach and brought in his wife to help out with the work, as well as other women.

Mr Alessi testified that after Ms Maxwell became involved with Epstein, things changed and were less cordial at the Palm Beach mansion. She told him that she was “the lady of the house”. He says there was less conversation and he was instructed by Ms Maxwell not to look Epstein in the eyes

The former housekeeper worked 14-hour days and was called John by the pair. One of his tasks was to put $100 bills in each of Epstein’s cars. The court adjourns for lunch. The former housekeeper Juan Alessi continues his testimony following the lunch break. He is describing Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion in great detail and a blueprint of the house is visible on screens in the courtroom. Mr Alessi said he painted it pink for Epstein. Referring to the second floor of the house he says that Ms Maxwell and Epstein shared a bedroom but had separate bathrooms.

In the morning session, Mr Alessi said that the house had to be run “like a five-star hotel” and “the cars had to be immaculate”. When asked to identify Ms Maxwell in the court he appeared to struggle for a moment given that she is wearing a face mask, but their eyes met, she nodded at him and he picked her out correctly as wearing a black sweater. He earlier described her as a “pretty girl”, “tall” and “brunette” and said she was with Epstein 95 per cent of the time.

Assistant US Attorney Comey asked if Mr Alessi saw females by the pool at the house, to which he replied “hundreds of times” adding that they were topless 75 to 80 per cent of the time. He said that most were in their 20s. Mr Alessi says he once flew on Epstein’s first plane, but not the Boeing or Gulfstream. He also visited the private island, Little St James, while on a cruise to St Thomas with his wife, and once went to Ms Maxwell’s London townhouse on her invitation.

Mr Alessi says he was given a lengthy checklist of tasks to perform to maintain the house in a 58-page booklet. He told Ms Maxwell that he could not complete all of the tasks along with his other work, describing to the court how it was enough work for 10 men. He described it as “very degrading”.

Ms Maxwell’s lawyer Jeffrey Pagliuca begins questioning Mr Alessi about the booklet, first confirming that he left Epstein’s employment in 2002. He notes that the book of instructions submitted as evidence dates from after Mr Alessi left, but the prosecution counters that he identified pages in the book. Judge Nathan allows it to be admitted as evidence.

Ms Comey points to some of the instructions in the booklet, asking Mr Alessi to read them out. They include: “See nothing. Say Nothing”, “Do not discuss your personal problems with guests”, and “Respect their privacy.” Asked what he understood that meant, Mr Alessi replied: “I was supposed to be blind, deaf ... to say nothing.” Another bullet point stated that he should never disclose the whereabouts or activities of Ms Maxwell or Epstein.

He was also instructed to check the perimeter fence for holes in which Max, Ms Maxwell’s Yorkie could get out. Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime notes that “Jane” referred to Ms Maxwell as walking a Yorkie in her testimony.

Ms Comey asks about a reference to JE and GM telephone directories, which Mr Alessi says are two-inch-thick books with hundreds of names, directions, and addresses. Mr Alessi was instructed to place Ms Maxwell’s book to the right of the phone on her desk and keep stocked two sizes of notepads — one Ghislaine Maxwell and one Lady Ghislaine (the name of Robert Maxwell’s yacht).

Mr Alessi says that two girls at the house appeared to be underage. He identifies Virginia Roberts and the witness known as “Jane” who testified on Tuesday and Wednesday. He describes her as strikingly beautiful with blue eyes, long brunette hair, tall, and “very pleasant”, and says she appeared to be 14 or 15. Mr Alessi says she was at the house three times with her mother, then without her mother many times.

Mr Alessi recalls driving “Jane”, saying he would pick her up at the direction of Epstein. He also says that Ms Maxwell, Epstein, and “Jane” went to the movies together. Asked when he met Virginia Roberts, he says it was at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Palm Beach residence. He describes her as looking young with blonde hair and a long white uniform like that of a nurse.

The former housekeeper recalls the day he met Virginia Roberts, saying that Ms Maxwell asked him to stop the car and went to speak with her. Ms Maxwell instructed him to pick up Ms Roberts on other occasions. Mr Alessi says that Epstein received up to three massages a day — in the morning, in the afternoon, and after dinner, adding “after the movies”. He also testifies that the previously mentioned phone directories had names for massages listed in them and “Jane” was listed. He adds that the books were updated twice a year and the old ones were thrown away.

Ms Comey has Mr Alessi look at the directory and asks if he reviewed it last night. He confirms he did and that he looked at every page. Asked how many names there are, he says: “Many. Many.” He says it is a later version from when he was employed at the house. The court goes into recess.

Ms Comey has resumed her questioning of Mr Alessi following the afternoon recess. Epstein’s former housekeeper confirms that the directory was updated twice a year and the names of new employees were added and those who had left were removed.

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