Madam Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested, Charged With Allegedly Procuring Young Girls For Billionaire Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein
What is her connection to Jeffrey Epstein?
getty Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested for her alleged role in Jeffrey Epstein's crimes.
We all know Epstein: billionaire financier, philanthropist, and registered sex offender. Epstein was charged and arrested in July 2019 for allegedly recruiting dozens of underage girls into a sex trafficking ring in Florida and New York between 2002 and 2005.
Federal prosecutors unsealed the sex trafficking charges against him, and made the details of his indictment public. But only about a month after he was arrested, Epstein was found dead in his prison cell by an apparent suicide.
However, since his death, many have continued to question if whether or not it was really a suicide.
A Netflix documentary, titled Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich was recently released that delved into Epstein's crooked world and his crimes. However, Epstein isn't the only person tied to this crime.
A name possibly tied to Epstein and these terrible acts is Ghislaine Maxwell.
And although Maxwell had been able to evade charges for her possible involvement in Epstein's crimes for awhile, she has finally been arrested.
Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? What ties does she have to Epstein and his crimes? Let's find out.
She knew Epstein for quite some time.
Maxwell and Epstein go way back. The pair had nearly two decades of history.
Maxwell met the infamous Epstein when she came to New York from England. It's in New York where she also met and was in the same circle as high fliers like Donald Trump.
Epstein and Maxwell started dating when they met, but the relationship apparently didn't last. It's believed that after they broke up, Maxwell began to transition into the role of "madam" for Epstein.
Maxwell is a socialite and the daughter of a publishing tycoon.
Described in a few words, Maxwell is a 58-year-old, Oxford educated, English socialite. She's the daughter of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell.
After her dad's sudden death in 1991, Maxwell fled from England and ended up moving to the United States. There, she went from being an English Socialite to an American Socialite, living on Manhattan's Upper East Side and making friends with the rich and powerful people of New York City.
She reportedly became Epstein's madam after they stopped dating.
It's reported that Maxwell started becoming Epstein's madam and right hand woman after their breakup.
The two kept up their elite lifestyles, despite what was going on behind closed doors. Slowly though, prominent figures began to distance themselves from Epstein and Maxwell after more rumors and allegations spread.
She allegedly became his partner in crime.
Maxwell allegedly took on the role of madam for Epstein, which meant there was a lot for her to do.
She seemed to play a pretty large role in recruiting girls for Epstein. Women have come forward saying that Maxwell was the one who lured them over to the sex offender billionaire's lair.
A victim named Maria Farmer said that she met Maxwell at an art show in 1995 and, months later, was sexually assaulted by Maxwell and Epstein in Ohio. She says Epstein also molested her 15-year-old sister at his New Mexico ranch.
Many young girls were seen coming and leaving Epstein's Manhattan residence. When asked about the suspicious activity, Maxwell would allegedly respond by saying the young girls were interviewing for modeling positions.
She managed to evade arrest for months.
Although Epstein was arrested and put in jail last summer, Maxwell was not. She remained at large for many months, even though she had been named as a co-defendant in Epstein's victims' civil cases.
Her attorney had cited that a criminal investigation into Maxwell, while she was also involved in the civil suits, would put her at a risk for self-incrimination.
Her attorney stated, “The Southern District of New York has publicly and repeatedly announced its ‘ongoing’ criminal investigation into alleged Epstein ‘co-conspirators’ on the same topic as Plaintiff alleges in this case. Denial of a stay, particularly a stay of Ms. Maxwell’s deposition, pending outcome of the criminal investigation could impair her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.”
Maxwell has also continually denied the accusations made against her in the Epstein case. In fact, since Epstein's arrest and death, Maxwell had pretty much seemed to disappear, seemingly going into hiding.
Maxwell was arrested on July 2, 2020.
Maxwell has finally been arrested on sex abuse charges and will be appearing in a federal court later today. The FBI arrested her this morning on a six-count indictment, naming Maxwell as an alleged conspirator in Epstein's crimes.
The indictment reads, "In some instances, Maxwell was present for and participated in the sexual abuse of minor victims." She also faces multiple perjury charges for possibly lying about Epstein in her own deposition.
In a statement made by Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, "Epstein got a crooked, sweetheart deal years ago that protected his co-conspirators, like Maxwell. Maxwell has been on the run for months because she too hoped to escape justice. We can’t let that happen again — her victims deserve their day in court."
Sasse had been pushing for an investigation into the alleged sweetheart deal that would give Epstein and his conspirators immunity from any charges made against them.
Lauren Margolis is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture, entertainment news and relationship topics.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in July 2019 and was updated with the latest information.