Epstein’s friend accused of recruiting girls for sex arrested

NEW YORK (AFP) — English socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested Thursday and charged with sex trafficking minors for late financier Jeffrey Epstein, the latest twist in a dramatic scandal that has embroiled Britain’s royal family.

Maxwell, whose whereabouts had been unknown following the suicide of her former boyfriend Epstein in August 2019 while awaited trial, faces six counts relating to his sex crimes.

FBI agents and New York police detained the daughter of late newspaper baron Robert Maxwell “without incident” in Bradford, New Hampshire at 8:30 a.m. (1330

GMT).

She later appeared before a local magistrate via video link that was broadcast to journalists and the public over the telephone.

The judge ordered her held in temporary detention pending transfer to the Southern District of New York, where she faces charges that include conspiracy to entice minors to travel in order to engage in illegal sex acts.

She is also charged with transportation of minors for criminal sexual activity, and perjury for allegedly lying under oath during a 2016 civil suit filed against her by one of Epstein’s alleged victims.