Ghislaine Maxwell, Former Jeffrey Epstein Companion, Arrested by FBI
Ghislaine Maxwell has been accused by multiple women of recruiting them when they were underage and grooming them for sex with Epstein and other powerful men
Greg Hanlon, People, July 02, 2020
(https://people.com/crime/ghislaine-maxwell-former-jeffrey-epstein-companion-arrested/)
Ghislaine Maxwell, the former companion of Jeffrey Epstein’s, has been arrested on multiple federal charges, PEOPLE confirms.
A statement posted to Twitter from the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York states Maxwell is charged “for her role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein.”
She was arrested Thursday morning by the FBI in Bedford, New Hampshire, and will appear in federal court in New Hampshire Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York City tells PEOPLE.
Maxwell, a British socialite and heiress, has been accused by multiple women of recruiting them when they were underage and grooming them for sex with the financier Epstein and other powerful men.
Charges against Maxwell, who is Epstein’s former girlfriend, include conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sex acts and perjury.
The indictment against Maxwell, which was obtained by PEOPLE, alleges she “enticed and groomed multiple minor girls to engage in sex acts with Jeffrey Epstein, through a variety of means and methods.”
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Detailing three instances between 1994 and 1997, the indictment alleges Maxwell would attempt to befriend the minors.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty
“Having developed a rapport with a victim, Maxwell would try to normalize sexual abuse for a minor victim by, among other things, discussing sexual topics, undressing in front of the victim, being present when a minor victim was undressed, and/or being present for sex acts involving the minor victim and Epstein,” the indictment states.
Maxwell has long denied wrongdoing.
Jeffrey S. Pagliuca, who has served as Maxwell’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Maxwell’s arrest comes almost exactly a year after Epstein, a registered sex offender, was arrested on sex crimes charges accusing him of abusing dozens of underage girls. In August 2019, Epstein died by suicide while in jail.