Ghislaine Maxwell arrest: Jeffrey Epstein associate charged by FBI

Jeffrey Epstein‘s associate Ghislaine Maxwell has been charged by the FBI on multiple charges of sex exploitation and abuse of minor girls.

The British socialite and heiress was a confidante to the disgraced financier. She later faced accusations of her own involvement in his sex crimes.

Maxwell, who reportedly has kept a low-profile since 2016 to avoid private investigators, was arrested in New Hampshire on Epstein-related charges and is expected to appear in federal court later today, News 4 New York first reported.

At one point Maxwell, the daughter of media baron Robert Maxwell, was Epstein’s girlfriend and then became a close friend to the man. But she also allegedly helped Epstein groom and procure young girls to the wealthy elite.

Her arrest comes just a few days before the anniversary of Epstein’s arrest last year on sex-trafficking charges, which alleged he exploited and transferred underage girls between New York and Florida. Epstein, 66, later killed himself in federal prison, according to the medical examiner.

Despite Epstein’s death, prosecutors continued to investigate his sex crimes, leaving open the possibility for associates involved to be charged with crimes.

Maxwell, 58, has been accused in multiple civil suits by Epstein’s victims of helping procure the young girls with the financier. One of the victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, made the accusation in a 2015 defamation suit.

Giuffre claimed in her since-settled suit that she was forced to have sex with Epstein and his close friend Prince Andrew. Both Maxwell and Prince Andrew have denied the allegations.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), which is prosecuting the case, has scheduled a press conference at noon ET in lower Manhattan to discuss Maxwell’s arrest.

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