The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell in New York is finally underway after years of allegations about her relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and claims that she helped him procure young girls for sex.

It has been a sensational fall from grace for the daughter of disgraced newspaper guru Robert Maxwell, who led a life of privilege that few could imagine. In the dock at a US District Court in Manhattan, Maxwell is pleading innocence to charges relating to the sexual abuse of four young girls.

Nicola Tallant talks to journalist Brad Hunter, the National Crime Columnist for the Toronto Sun, who has been writing about the story of Epstein and Maxwell for years and who is now covering the court case. He describes the evidence heard so far, the appearance of a prison-weary Maxwell, and his own views on why she is a figure who has garnered little sympathy from the public.

Crime World Extra: The sordid tales behind the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

Crime World, with Nicola Tallant, is a weekly Irish podcast about criminals, drugs and the sins of the underworld. Discussing the real stories, and the real people, behind the grisly headlines.