Ghislaine Maxwell was called by the lawyers of a prominent false memory expert, who assisted Harvey Weinstein as well as OJ Simpson in their defence against the British socialite’s case for sex slavery.
Dr Elizabeth Loftus, who is being paid $600 per hour, has been called in an effort to undercut the accounts of four women who say Maxwell groomed them for abuse by the pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Loftus told the Manhattan Federal court that people can confidently recall events that never happened.
The jury heard her describe experiments she had conducted with colleagues to implant false memories into the minds of study participants.
Loftus explained that even trauma experiences could be subject to post-event suggestion.
False memories…can be vivid, specific. Although false memories can make people feel confident, they can also cause them to be emotionally charged.
Dr Elizabeth Loftus, who is being paid $600 per hour, arriving at the Manhattan Federal court on Thursday
Maxwell turns his attention back towards the gallery, as Loftus testifies at Thursday’s trial for memory corruption in this court Sketch
OJ Simpson (right) and Ted Bundy (left). The defensive in Bundy’s trial used her study on the unreliability of memory between initial and recalled memory of Carol DaRonch, who Bundy attacked in her car while he dressed as a police officer
Loftus has worked on numerous trials, including convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein (pictured), where she failed to convince the jury of his witness Annabella Sciorra’s memory was defective
Maxwell’s lawyers argue that Maxwell’s four accusers’ memories are now corrupted by the years. The alleged abuse occurred in 1994 to 2004.
Maxwell, aged 59, has denied eight charges of sextrafficking and other charges.
According to her lawyers, she is being trialed as an agent for Epstein who was hanged in Manhattan in 2019, while waiting for his trial.
Loftus, a professor at the University of California, said: ‘The older the event is the more susceptible people are to having post-event suggestion contaminate their memory.’
Maxwell’s lawyers claim the accusers didn’t mention Maxwell when they first met with law enforcement. Loftus testimony might help them prove that Maxwell’s memories were influenced by news reports, or even questions FBI agents asked.
Lara Pomerantz, the prosecutor sought to paint Loftus’s work as unimportant to the case.
“Have your conducted any study in which you made it possible for girls to sexually abuse? Pomerantz asked.
Loftus responded, “No, absolutely no,” and that Loftus had not conducted any study where she tried to instill a false memory about sexual abuse.
Pomerantz pointed out that Loftus was profiting off her testimony, after she claimed to be receiving $600 per hour from defense.
Loftus was also charged with bias by her, in reference to her 1992 book “Witness for the Defense”.
You haven’t published a book called “Impartial witness,” are you right? said Pomerantz.
Loftus answered, “No,”
Loftus has testified at more than 300 trials, including that of serial killer Ted Bundy and the officers accused in the Rodney King beating.
She also testified at Weinstein’s trial – but he was convicted in February, 2020, of sexual assault and rape.
The professor has spent years researching the malleability of human memory and often claims in court that memories are wrong or distorted.
Loftus told the Los Angeles Times in a 2020 interview that he believes there are many people out there who will support accuseders. I believe people being accused should also be supported.
Maxwell is Epstein’s ex-boyfriend and was accused of grooming teenage girls for her former boyfriend.
Maxwell (59) denies 8 counts of sextrafficking and several other charges. Maxwell’s lawyers claim that she is being trialed as an accomplice to Epstein. Epstein was hanged in Manhattan in 2019, while waiting for his trial.
Loftus has researched the possible unreliability witness accounts and memory suppression and applied it to sexual assault survivors in support of the alleged perpetrator discontinuing the victim’s testimony.
Loftus’ research on inconsistent memories was used by Bundy to highlight that Carol DaRonch, whom Bundy drove into her Volkswagen Beetle but managed to escape, had inconsistencies both in her original description and later.
Bundy had disguised himself as a policeman when he attacked DaRonch. She also provided witness accounts that showed she used more color descriptions of the badge that he wore to describe the car after being shown a photograph by authorities.
Loftus stated that people fear their memory will slip, which can lead to neglecting details and rearranging facts.
‘When we remember, we pull pieces of the past out of some mysterious region in the brain – jagged pieces that we sort and shift, arrange and rearrange until they fit into a pattern that makes sense…it is part fact, part fiction, a warped and twisted reconstruction of reality.’
Time’s Up is a feminist movement that was popularized by the large number of women who came forward, as well as having major celebrity support such Emma Watson, Reese Witherspoon, and Meryl Steep. Loftus’ false memory work has been called a tool used for discrediting survivors of sexual abuse over decades.
The American Psychological Association has yet to ratify false memory syndrome. It is considered ‘controversial’ by some and ‘not recommended for use’. [an] accepted diagnostic term.’