Will Maxwell clear Prince Andrew – or damn him?
GHISLAINE Maxwell could end up in the same jail where Jeffery Epstein committed suicide last year when she is transferred to New York to face child sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and alleged madam, was arrested on Thursday in Bradford, New Hampshire, for helping the millionaire paedophile procure and sexually abuse young girls.
At a court hearing Maxwell’s attorneys agreed to have the case moved to the Southern District of New York – where she is being charged.
She is being held without bail after prosecutors convinced the judge that she is a flight risk and has access to unlimited resources.
“That risk is only amplified by the defendant’s extensive international ties, her citizenship in two foreign countries, her wealth, and her lack of meaningful ties to the United States,” a detention memo states.
“In short, Maxwell has three passports, large sums of money, extensive international connections, and absolutely no reason to stay” in the US.
Maxwell was expected to be transferred to New York City yesterday or on Monday, where she could be housed at one of two federal lockups – the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Lower Manhattan or the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.
In Britain, there is never a good time for the proverbial “bad penny” to turn up, so imagine how Queen Elizabeth received news of Maxwell’s arrest and her appearance in court.
Maxwell was once a welcome visitor to royal homes, a guest at Sandringham as well as being invited to one of the starriest parties thrown at Windsor Castle, the so-called Dance of the Decades in the summer of 2000.
On another occasion the vivacious socialite was photographed at Prince
Andrew’s side in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot, where admission is at “Her Majesty’s discretion”.
There must have been the iciest of feelings at the news that the daughter of disgraced media tycoon Robert Maxwell had been taken into custody.
For more than seven months it has been a crisis, with every sordid revelation lapping that bit closer to Buckingham Palace.
Ever since that Newsnight interview in which Andrew spectacularly failed to offer any sympathy for Epstein’s victims and showed no remorse over his friendship with the billionaire sex offender, fears about the implications for the prince have multiplied.
Maxwell’s arrest changes everything.
She is in the photo of Andrew with his arm around the bare midriff of teenager Virginia Roberts – a picture of which the Duke of York “has no recollection” – which was taken by Epstein in Maxwell’s Belgravia home.
If anyone knows the truth it must be Maxwell, whom Andrew befriended during visits to New York after his divorce from the Duchess of York.
It was through Maxwell that Andrew was introduced to Epstein, who was found dead in his New York prison cell a year ago. | Daily Mail