Ghislaine Maxwell could spend both Christmas and her 60th birthday behind bars while she awaits the verdict in her sex trafficking case.

The British socialite, 59, is accused of grooming underage girls for the abuse of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - claims which she has denied.

Now she could spend Christmas - which is also her milestone birthday - behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York if the jury do not reach a decision soon on the sex trafficking trial.

Court is not due to be in session on Thursday, December 23, but Judge Alison Nathan said the jury could deliberate on Thursday if they had not reached a decision by the end of session on Wednesday.

The jury of six men and six women will reconvene after the festive period if they do not reach a verdict by Thursday.

US prosecutors alleged she “played a critical role in the grooming and abuse” of minors and called her a “dangerous predator”.

Meanwhile, her lawyers argued those who have accused her of sex trafficking have false memory and are motivated by financial gain.

The summations come in the fourth week of the trial. Originally it was thought the trial would last for six weeks.

Maxwell was arrested in July last year in New Hampshire and later described her captivity like being in a “hell hole”.

On April 23, she appeared in court for the first time and was denied bail.

Her trial began at a Federal court in the Southern District of New York on November 29.