Ghislaine Maxwell, 58, was the missing piece in the US investigation into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein – the pedophile billionaire who committed suicide in prison in August 2019. The wealthy Briton, daughter of press magnate Robert Maxwell, has was arrested by the FBI on Thursday morning July 2 in Bradford, New Hampshire (United States).
The charges against them are serious and date back to between 1994 and 1997. During this period, specifies the indictment issued by the federal court of the southern district of New York, Ghislaine Maxwell "Assisted, facilitated, and contributed to the abuses perpetrated on underage girls by Jeffrey Epstein, by helping him, among other things to recruit, prepare and ultimately abuse his victims (…) some just 14 years old. " What is more, specifies the indictment, Mme Maxwell would have "Lied several times when she was asked about her behavior and her relationships with some of the underage victims in 2016 while testifying under oath."
The Briton maintained " a personal and professional relationship ” with Jeffrey Epstein, and was even "One of his close friends" during those years. The billionaire paid the wealthy heiress to take care of her various properties. She is especially suspected of having carried out a real hunt for minors, whom she would have attracted, put in confidence, pretending to be interested in their life, their studies or their family, taking them to the cinema or to shopping sprees. She would have contributed to "Normalize" sexual abuse by being present, during massage sessions between Mr. Epstein and his victims – by participating in massages and even sexual abuse themselves.
"An essential role"
The sessions took place in the residences of Epstein, in Palm Beach in Florida, in Manhattan, or in his ranch in Santa Fe (New Mexico), and even in the London residence of Ghislaine Maxwell. Three victims are identified in the indictment, but not named. Virginia Giuffre (née Roberts), the main accuser of Jeffrey Epstein, is probably not one of them, having met the couple in the early 2000s. Ghislaine Maxwell "Played an essential role" helping Epstein to abuse minors, "She even participated in the abuses in certain cases" said New York prosecutor Audrey Strauss. And she lied, "Because the truth (…) was on the verge of the unspeakable. She was the one who set the traps, pretending to be a woman to whom (the victims) could trust. "
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