Ghislaine Maxwell Denies Witnessing 'Inappropriate' Activities From Jeffrey Epstein

The 58-year-old former socialite made the claim in transcripts from a 2016 deposition which were recently made public. Maxwell had previously battled to keep the testimony secret.

The testimony was made in relation to a now-settled defamation case against Epstein by accuser Virginia Giuffre in 2016.

The newly released deposition is more than 400 pages, and sees Maxwell repeatedly and strenuously denying seeing late financier having sex with underaged partners.

When quizzed on whether she was aware of any non-consensual sexual acts between Epstein and masseuses, she replied: "All the time that I have been in the house I have never seen, heard, nor witnessed, nor have [had] reported to me that any activities took place, that people were in distress, either reported to me by the staff or anyone else."

Maxwell added said she never hired anyone under the age of 18 to work in Epstein's homes and never participated in any sexual activities with them.

She said: "I can only testify to what I know. I know that Virginia is a liar".

Maxwell also dubbed Giuffre as "an awful fantasist."

While the deposition was previously unreleased, with Maxwell's lawyers arguing the documents could stop Maxwell from having a fair trial, judges ruled that the public had the right to access the documents.

She prepares to face trial in 2021, and could face a sentence of up to 35 years in prison.

Epstein was arrested in July last year on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. He died in his jail cell in August of that year.