When convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in an apparent suicide in his jail cell in August, authorities were forced to shift their focus onto his alleged accomplices.
For decades, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was one of the disgraced financier’s closest confidantes. And his alleged victims have accused her of being deeply involved in Epstein’s criminal activities.
Multiple women have accused her of being Epstein’s “primary co-conspirator” and “madame” whose job it was to recruit young women into his orbit.
Today, the 57-year-old was arrested and charged by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in New Hampshire.
Who is she and when did she meet Jeffrey Epstein?
The youngest child of media tycoon and fraudster Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine Maxwell was born into exceptional wealth, but has often been trailed by controversy.
In 1991, her father’s body was found floating naked in the sea after he apparently fell overboard from his yacht off the Canary Islands. It later emerged he had plundered hundreds of millions of pounds from his companies’ pension funds.
After her father’s death, Ms Maxwell moved to the United States and was soon photographed with Epstein.
What are the charges and allegations against her?
The charges against Ms Maxwell include:
- counts of 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