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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 286 Filed 05/20/21 Page10of14
conduct involving Accuser-3 was an overt act in furtherance of a conspiracy, it argues that it is
entitled to imply that the conduct itself was unlawful. The obvious flaws in this logic are at least
threefold. First, the Indictment does not merely imply that the alleged conduct involving
Accuser-3 was unlawful; it specifically and falsely characterizes the conduct as “sexuall[]
abuse[].” Second, as the government points out repeatedly, an overt act in furtherance of a
conspiracy need not itself be unlawful. See, e.g., Opp. 161 (“It is axiomatic that a conspiracy
does not require a completed substantive crime.”). And third, the government’s reasoning is
circular: It argues simultaneously that Accuser-3’s lawful sexual encounters with Epstein
demonstrate the existence of a conspiracy, and that the existence of a conspiracy makes those
sexual encounters unlawful.
Since the government concedes that Epstein’s alleged sexual contact with Accuser-3 was
consensual and lawful, and that Accuser-3 was above the legal age of consent, the government’s
allegation that Ms. Maxwell was complicit in the “sexual[] abuse[]” of Accuser-3 amounts to a
knowingly false accusation that she committed a crime. It is hard to conceive of a more
inflammatory or prejudicial allegation.
Also troubling is the government’s statement that Accuser-3 will testify to her “subjective
experience” of her admittedly lawful sexual encounters with Epstein “as traumatic, exploitative,
and abusive.” See Opp. 162 n.57 (emphasis added). To the extent that evidence regarding
Accuser-3’s involvement in lawful sexual activity in England while she was above the age of
legal consent has any relevance whatsoever to an alleged conspiracy to cause underage girls to
travel in the United States to engage in illegal sex acts, that relevance certainly does not
encompass Accuser-3’s “subjective experience” of her lawful, consensual encounters. The
government’s intention to present such testimony further demonstrates that Accuser-3’s function
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00004223.jpg |
| File Size | 717.4 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.3% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,101 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 16:45:22.950077 |