On Thursday morning, Jeffrey Epstein's one-time girlfriend and allegedly his accomplice for abusing and sex-trafficking young girls, Ghislaine Maxwell, was arrested and charged in her alleged involvement in enticing and sexually abusing minors, as said by prosecutors.
Sexual abuse
According to CNN, federal investigators tracked the 58-year-old Maxwell location and was arrested while she was in New Hampshire and charged with six criminal counts. The crimes range from the enticement of young girls to have them commit sexual activities to transport minors for illegal sexual acts.
The indictment wrote that between 1994 and 1997, Maxwell allegedly conspired with and managed Epstein's heinous abuse of young girls by assisting the criminal to recruit, groom, and abuse their victims the couple knew were underaged.
Maxwell, along with now-deceased Epstein, is claimed to have lured young girls to multiple residences, one of which is their Upper East Side mansion located in Epstein's Palm Beach estate and several others.
A year after authorities captured Epstein, investigators took Maxwell into custody. She was later transferred to New York to await her detention hearing.
However, prosecutors have noted that Maxwell is an "extreme flight risk" due to her connections and that she holds three different passports to the US, France, and the UK and has frequently traveled to the UK, Japan, Qatar, as reported by NBC News.
Prosecutors believe that the severity of the accusations against her, along with the firm evidence officials have and potentially lengthy imprisonment, gives Maxwell a massive desire to escape.
Biding her time
Maxwell's defense lawyer said on Thursday the defendant wanted a bail hearing scheduled when her case is transferred to the Southern District of New York. The lawyer, however, declined to comment when reached out by news outlets.
Several young women have openly accused Maxwell of being complicit in Epstein's crimes of enticing and sexually abusing young girls. The claims state she either directly recruited or supported the trafficking-ring by managing and scheduling visits to Epstein's residence.
One victim, Jennifer Araoz, wrote in a statement that Maxwell was at the center of the abuse operations, adding now that it has been knocked to the ground, she has confidence she can finally lead a safe life.
Maxwell sexually abused Araoz when she was still a teenager and sued the youngest daughter of Robert Maxwell, the late British publishing magnate, claiming she and others have worked together to make the sex-trafficking ring possible.
Araoz hoped that she would get justice for the heinous crimes she was submitted to and noted that Maxwell's arrest was a step in the right direction towards having her locked up in prison.
Allegedly, the couple's victims were treated glamorously to expensive shopping trips, attractive travel, and fantastic education to distract them from the horrific acts they are forced to do by Epstein, said prosecutors.
Audrey Strauss, a US attorney, said that with Maxwell's help, Epstein gained the victims' trust whereby the confidant would take her clothes off in front of the young girls and helped put the victims' minds at ease.
Maxwell's involvement in the crimes first came to light when unsealed court filings revealed in August depositions from former masseuses, staffers, and associates that worked with Epstein, showing an image of how Maxwell was Epstein's chief enabler.
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