Jeffrey Epstein Confidante Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested, Charged With Assisting In Sex Abuse Of Minors – Update

UPDATE, with indictment details, Buckingham Palace response  Ghislaine Maxwell has been indicted on six counts in federal court, including Conspiracy to Entice Minors to Travel to Engage in Illegal Sex Acts, Enticement of a Minor to Travel to Engage in Illegal Sex Acts, Conspiracy to Transport Minors with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity, Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity and two counts of perjury.

The indictment, filed in U.S. Southern District Court in New York, says that between 1994 and 1997 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 known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18.” Maxwell is also alleged to have schemed with Epstein to entice and cause “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. Moreover, in an effort to conceal her crimes, Maxwell repeatedly lied when questioned about her conduct, including in relation to some of the minor victims described herein, when providing testimony under oath in 2016.”

Read the indictment here.

Also today, both Buckingham Palace and the legal team of Prince Andrew, son of Queen Elizabeth II, declined to comment on Maxwell’s arrest. Prince Andrew has denied any involvement in the illegal activities of his friend Epstein. “This is not something for us to comment on,” a spokesperson for the Palace told CNN.

PREVIOUS, 6:45 am Ghislaine Maxwell, the British confidante of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested by the FBI and the New York Police Department, NBC News is reporting. The arrest involves Maxwell’s charges stemming from an investigation by New York federal prosecutors into Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse of girls and young women.

Epstein was arrested a year ago almost to the day – July 5, 2019 – on sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges. He killed himself awaiting trial the following month in federal prison in New York City, an act that spawned various conspiracy theories, some involving a circle of friends and acquaintances that includes many rich and famous.

Maxwell, according to NBC News, was arrested in New Hampshire around 8:30 a.m. today and will appear before a judge there later today. Maxwell is the daughter of media tycoon Robert Maxwell and Epstein’s former girlfriend and longtime friend. Various alleged victims of Epstein have said that Maxwell served as a procurer of minor girls for Epstein.

Maxwell has repeatedly denied the allegations.