January 1, Judge Allows Ghislaine Maxwell to Call ‘False Memories’ Expert to Testify at Trial

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan permitted Ghislaine Maxwell to call a psychologist who specializes in how memories can become distorted over time to testify at her trial on sex abuse and trafficking charges.

Maxwell’s lawyers have said they plan to call psychologist Elizabeth Loftus to testify on “false memories” of sexual abuses that people may confidently describe without deliberately lying.

According to Luc Cohen of Reuters: “Loftus, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, has testified at hundreds of trials, including as a defense witness in real estate heir Robert Durst’s murder trial and former movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s trial on rape and sexual assault charges. Both were convicted.”

Prosecutors had requested that Nathan disallow Loftus’s testimony, calling her opinions “unreliable.”

Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges.

Opening statements at the trial begin on Nov. 29.

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U.S. judge lets Ghislaine Maxwell call ‘false memories’ expert to testify at trial