Yahoo News Ghislaine Maxwell: the charges against her for role in Epstein's abuse
Ghislaine Maxwell is charged over her role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein, the indictment reads.
She faces six counts: conspiracy to entice minors, and enticement of a minor, to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiracy to transport minors, and transportation of a minor, with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and two of perjury.
In particular, between about 1994, up to about 1997, it is alleged …
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’ that she and Epstein knew to be under the age of 18.
The victims were as young as 14 years old when they were groomed and abused by Maxwell and Epstein, both of whom knew that certain victims were in fact under the age of 18.
The indictment claims:
Maxwell first attempted to befriend some of Epstein’s minor victims prior to their abuse, including by asking the victims about their lives, their schools, and their families. Maxwell and Epstein would spend time building friendships with minor victims by, for example, taking minor victims to the movies or shopping. Some of these outings would involve Maxwell and Epstein spending time together with a minor victim, while some would involve Maxwell or Epstein spending time alone with a minor victim.
The indictment claims she and Epstein …
enticed and caused minor victims to travel to Epstein’s residences in different states, which Maxwell knew and intended would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse.
Having developed a rapport, it states, Maxwell would “try to normalise sexual abuse” by, among other things, “discussing sexual topics, undressing in front of the victims, being present when a minor victim was undressed, and/or being present for sex acts involving the minor victims and Epstein”.
This helped put victims at their ease, because an adult woman was present, the indictment reads. In some cases she would massage Epstein in front of them, in others she encouraged them to provide massages to him “including sexualised massages during which a minor victim would be fully or partially nude. Many of those massages resulted in Epstein sexually abusing the minor victims.”
She encouraged them to accept Epstein’s help for “travel and/or educational opportunities”. As a result they felt “indebted”, it states.
It adds: “In some instances Maxwell was present for and participated in the abuse of minor victims” including massages “which developed into sexual encounters”.
She “facilitated” his access to the victims, “knowing that he had a sexual preference for underage girls”, it states.
“Victims were groomed and/or abuse at multiple locations,” it claims.
These included his Upper East Side Manhattan mansion, his Palm Beach residence in Florida, his ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Maxwell’s “personal residence in London”.
Among victims “induced or enticed” by Maxwell are three identified as minor victim 1, minor victim 2 and minor victim 3.
The indictment further adds that “in or around 2016, in the context of civil litigation”, Maxwell “repeatedly provided false and perjurious statements under oath, regarding, among other subjects, her role in facilitating the abuse of minor victims by Jeffrey Epstein”.
