Jeffrey Epstein's Ex-Girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested On Suspicion Of Grooming Children
Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and close friend of Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested in relation to the late financier’s sex crimes.
Maxwell, the socialite and daughter of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, was arrested by the FBI in Bradford, New Hampshire, on Thursday morning and is expected to appear in federal court later in the day, an FBI spokesperson told HuffPost.
Prosecutors say she conspired to entice children to travel to engage in illegal sex acts with Epstein in as early as 1994, according to an indictment filed in New York and obtained by HuffPost.
The indictment states victims were “groomed and/or abused at multiple locations”, including Maxwell’s home in London as well as Epstein’s properties across the US.
“Maxwell assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18,” a copy of the indictment reads.
In some cases, prosecutors say Maxwell would befriend the victims by taking them to the movies or to go shopping. She would attempt to normalise sexual abuse around them and pay for their travel or other opportunities which would make the victims “feel indebted”.
Maxwell faces six counts in all, including conspiracy, enticement and transportation of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, and two counts of perjury over testimony she gave before the Southern District of New York in 2016 about her role and knowledge of the sexual abuse.
The indictment refers to one of the victims being “groomed and befriended” by Maxwell in London between 1994 and 1995, including “during a period of time in which Maxwell knew that [the victim] was under the age of 18″.
It states she “encouraged” the victim to “massage Epstein [...] knowing that Epstein would engage in sex acts [...] during those massages”. It adds Maxwell “was aware that Epstein...
