Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday in connection to Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking operation, The New York Times reports.
Maxwell was indicted on six counts, including “enticing minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity, two conspiracy counts related to those charges and two counts of perjury,” according to the report.
The indictment spans three incidents between 1994 and 1997. The indictment alleges that Maxwell befriended underage girls and groomed them for Epstein to abuse.
Arrest comes one year after Epstein’s:
Maxwell’s arrest comes nearly a year after Epstein, who previously pleaded guilty to charges in Florida, was charged in a federal indictment with sexually abusing dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York, Florida, and other locations.
Epstein’s charges covered incidents between 2002 and 2005.
The indictment said Epstein paid girls to give him massages while they were topless or unclothed. The massages “typically” included sex acts.
Epstein hanged himself in his jail cell in August.
Who is Maxwell?
Maxwell, who frequently accompanied Epstein to events and was seen posing alongside him in countless photos, has been accused of recruiting girls for Epstein to abuse for years.
Maxwell is the daughter of Robert Maxwell, the British media mogul, and is said to have introduced Epstein to numerous celebrities and high-profile businessmen.
Maxwell also managed Epstein’s properties.
“They were like partners in a business,” Mr. Epstein’s house manager, Janusz Banasiak, said in a deposition in a civil lawsuit brought against Maxwell.
“She orchestrated the whole thing for Jeffrey,” Epstein accuser Sarah Ransome told The Times.
