Ghislaine Maxwell: Employee told 'not to look Jeffrey Epstein in the eye'

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell tightly oversaw every detail in Jeffrey Epstein's Florida mansion, a former employee has alleged.

At Ms Maxwell's trial, Juan Alessi said as "lady of the house", she ordered a "tremendous" number of rules, telling him not to look Epstein in the eye.

He also accused her of having two underage girls driven to the home.

She has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of sex trafficking and other crimes from 1994-2004.

Ms Maxwell has been in a US jail since her arrest last year, and faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted.

The defence says she is being used as a scapegoat for Epstein's crimes, following his death in prison in 2019.

During the Manhattan court hearing, prosecutors produced an instruction manual allegedly given to staff at the late financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach mansion.

"Remember that you see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing, except to answer a question directed at you," the 58-page booklet read.

It ordered staff to "NEVER disclose Mr Epstein or Ms Maxwell's activities or whereabouts to anyone."

A lengthy checklist to review prior to Epstein arriving at the mansion also required that a gun be placed in the drawer of a side table in his bedroom.

The manual was dated after Mr Alessi's departure in 2002, but he said he remembered a previous version of it with similar content.

He also recalled seeing two girls who appeared to be aged 14 or 15, including one who testified this week under the pseudonym "Jane".

Mr Alessi said he first met "Jane" in 1994 when she visited the mansion with her mother, and that he once picked her up from school.

He also recalled seeing her board a plane from Palm Beach with Epstein and Ms Maxwell.

Earlier this week, "Jane" told jurors that she was subjected to years of sexual abuse by Epstein, from the age of 14. She alleged that Ms Maxwell was often present during the abuse and sometimes participated in the sex acts.

Ms Maxwell's defence team will cross examine Mr Alessi on Friday.

Born outside Paris on Christmas Day 1961, Ms Maxwell grew up in a country mansion, went to Oxford University and speaks several languages.

She is the youngest child of late media mogul Robert Maxwell.

She is said to have had a very close relationship with her late father, and he named his luxury yacht - the Lady Ghislaine - after her.

Soon after her father's death in 1991, Ms Maxwell left the UK to settle in America, where she worked in real estate, and not long after met Jeffrey Epstein.

She sold her Manhattan townhouse in 2016, and kept a low profile until she was arrested last July at her secluded mansion in the state of New Hampshire.