More women are expected to testify against the Alexander brothers in federal court in Manhattan on Monday as the brothers’ sex-trafficking trial enters its third week.
Tal Alexander, 39, along with Oren and Alon Alexander, both 38, are charged in a 12-count indictment that lists eight victims, including two underage girls. The brothers have denied all the allegations and have pleaded not guilty.
Here are four takeaways from the second week of the trial.
The judge denied a request for a mistrial.
Last Monday, defense lawyers requested a mistrial, arguing that the brothers could not receive a fair trial after their names were mentioned in documents that were released as part of the Epstein files. The brothers have not been linked to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in 2019, or accused of any crimes associated with him.
The disclosure, which also revealed the identity of an accuser in the brothers’ trial, angered Judge Valerie Caproni, who asked the prosecutors how it was possible that such a lapse had occurred. The eight women whose allegations prosecutors used to build their case against the Alexanders were not identified by name in the indictment, and some have used pseudonyms to testify.
Although Judge Caproni denied the defense’s request for a mistrial, she agreed to ask the jurors individually about whether they had read any reporting on the case. Each juror responded “no.” She later ordered the government not to release any more material in the Epstein files related to the brothers until a verdict had been reached. The trial is expected to last at least two more weeks.
An accuser who was a minor at the time testified.
Prosecutors have also charged Oren Alexander with sexual exploitation of a minor, accusing him of filming and sharing a video of an incapacitated 17-year-old girl in April 2009.
The jury was shown the video privately during the first week of the trial. Last week, the woman in the video, now 34, said she had no memory of ever meeting Oren Alexander.
The woman, using the pseudonym Amelia Rosen, said that she was approached by the government after law enforcement officials recovered the video of her. She described the video as showing two men having sex with her while she appeared to be “under the influence.” She added that watching it was “very painful and upsetting.”
She stated that she was working as a model at the time, and that occasionally party promoters brought her to parties and clubs in New York. At those events, she said, people would give her drugs and alcohol, which frequently caused her to lose her memory.
Before leaving the witness stand, Ms. Rosen said she had chosen to testify “to make sense of what happened to me and hopefully process and move on,” before wiping away a tear.
Two women described feeling paralyzed before they were attacked.
On Monday, a woman using the pseudonym Bela Koval testified that she was drugged and raped by Oren Alexander in September 2016 at a party in the Hamptons.
She said she felt as if she had no control over her body after taking a few sips of a drink he had given her. She said she went to lie down and woke up to find him entering the room and raping her.
Another woman, testifying on Tuesday and Wednesday under the name Rhonda Stone, said she met Oren and Alon Alexander on a cruise to the Bahamas in January 2012. She said she went back to their cabin to buy MDMA. There, she said, she was offered a drink and lost consciousness.
Ms. Stone said she woke up feeling paralyzed, and remembered that the two brothers took turns having sex with her and with another woman.
Lawyers for the brothers sought to discredit the women, noting inconsistencies between their testimony in court and previous statements given to law enforcement.
An expert testified about how drugs are used in sexual assault.
The prosecution has argued in charges that date back to 2008 that the brothers used drugs and alcohol to incapacitate women.
On Thursday, the prosecution introduced evidence, including emails and messages, in which they claimed the brothers were discussing or trying to purchase drugs including GHB, quaaludes, Xanax and Ambien.
Prosecutors called Dr. Stacey Hail, an expert in medical toxicology, to the stand on Thursday. She testified that sedatives can impair memory, perception and decision-making, while also leading people to lose motor function, and ultimately the ability to fight back against an attacker.
But on cross-examination, Dr. Hail agreed that a very large dose of alcohol and a small dose of another drug could produce the same effects.
Kate Christobek is a reporter covering breaking news for The Times.
The post Takeaways From the Second Week of the Alexander Brothers Trial appeared first on New York Times.
