British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been charged with six counts relating to the sexual abuse and trafficking of minors in the case of late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The 58-year-old was charged by the Southern District of New York, which did not stop investigating Epstein’s associates after his death, with conspiring to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, perjury and other offenses.
From at least 1994 to 1997, Maxwell assisted, facilitated and contributed to Epstein’s alleged abuse of minor girls, the six-count indictment claimed.
Federal prosecutors in New York alleged Maxwell helped Epstein recruit, groom and ultimately abuse girls as young as 14
She was arrested in Bradford, New Hampshire, without incident and is expected to make a virtual courthouse appearance.
Maxwell’s arrest comes almost exactly a year after the arrest of Epstein, who died by suicide in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan in August 2019.
She has been accused by several women of enabling, facilitating or participating in their abuse. She has previously denied wrongdoing.
SDNY officials announce charges against Ghislaine Maxwell.https://t.co/V0F6LFYfvr
"Maxwell played a critical role in helping Epstein to identify, befriend and groom minor victims for abuse," they allege. "In some cases, Maxwell participated in the abuse." pic.twitter.com/VnKSTaHZ2Z
— ABC News (@ABC) July 2, 2020
