Epstein associate Maxwell arrested, charged
BRADFORD, New Hampshire: Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested yesterday on US charges of luring underage girls so that Epstein could sexually abuse them.
The FBI arrest of the British socialite is the latest twist in the mystery of Epstein, who went from a high school math teacher to highflying lifestyle of private Caribbean islands and powerful connections that his victims say allowed him to abuse minors with impunity.
Maxwell (58) was arrested in Bradford, New Hampshire, where she had been lying low since December, the FBI said.
Maxwell appeared briefly by video from jail at a hearing in New Hampshire federal court, where a judge ordered her to face the criminal charges in New York. She did not enter a plea, and bail was not determined.
She is charged with four criminal counts related to procuring and transporting minors for illegal sex acts and two of perjury, according to the indictment by federal prosecutors in New York.
“Maxwell was among Epstein’s closest associates and helped him exploit girls who were as young as 14 years old,” acting Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss said.
“Maxwell played a critical role in helping Epstein to identify, befriend and groom minor victims for abuse. In some cases, Maxwell participated in the abuse herself.”
Epstein was awaiting trial on federal charges of trafficking minors between 2002 and 2005 when he was found hanged in an apparent suicide while in a New York City jail in August. The indictment accuses Maxwell of luring the girls beginning in 1994 through to 1997, by asking them about their lives, schools and families and taking them shopping or to movies.
Epstein has been linked socially to powerful figures, from President Donald Trump to former president Bill Clinton and Britain’s Prince Andrew. — Reuters