Feds arrest Epstein associate Maxwell
She is accused of recruiting child sex victims
Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested Thursday and charged with helping to procure young victims for the disgraced financier's child sex trafficking operation that began more than 25 years ago.
Maxwell made a brief appearance via video-link in a New Hampshire federal court, hours after her arrest in the small town of Bradford where she had recently purchased a large tract of property. A federal judge directed that she be transported for a detention hearing in Manhattan where the charges were announced.
A federal grand jury in New York indicted Maxwell on perjury and conspiracy charges that accuse her of helping Epstein “recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims” between 1994 and 1997. Both allegedly knew the victims were under age 18 and as young as 14.
Maxwell and Epstein enticed and lured the victims to Epstein's homes scattered across the United States and abroad, “which Maxwell knew and intended would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse,” the indictment charged.
“Moreover, in an effort to conceal her crimes, Maxwell repeatedly lied about her conduct,” including when she gave sworn testimony in 2016, the indictment charged.
Court documents describe elaborate schemes in which Maxwell and Epstein allegedly accompanied victims on shopping trips and movie outings, all designed to put the girls at ease in preparation for more intimate encounters.
“Having developed a rapport with a victim, Maxwell would try to normalize sexual abuse ... by among other things discussing sexual topics, undressing in front of the victim, being present when a minor victim was undressed and being present for sex acts involving the minor victim and Epstein,” prosecutors alleged.