The FBI has arrested Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite well known for being an ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein.
According to the BBC, she is believed to have been arrested in Bedford, New Hampshire, on charges related to Epstein, who was arrested last year following allegations he had been running a network of underage girls for sex.
Two senior law enforcement sources told News 4 New York that Maxwell had been arrested by the FBI at around 8:30am on charges she conspired with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
Advert
The sources said Maxwell, who has previously denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein's alleged misconduct, is due in federal court later today.
Maxwell is the daughter of media baron Robert Maxwell, and was also once the girlfriend of American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Having been seen at Epstein's side for decades, Maxwell was alleged to have helped him groom young girls.
One of Epstein's victims, Virgina Giuffre, alleged in a civil lawsuit that Maxwell had recruited her into Epstein's circle, saying he had forced her to have sex with him and friends - one of whom included Prince Andrew, who has denied Giuffre's claims.
Advert
At the time, Buckingham Palace responded to the allegations in a statement that said: "This relates to proceedings in the United States, to which The Duke of York is not a party. Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue."
Maxwell has also said Giuffre's allegations are untrue, with Giuffre later filing a defamation suit against Maxwell in 2015.
Epstein died in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Facility in New York, on 10 August 2019. His death was ruled as suicide by hanging by the New York medical examiner.
Advert
He had been arrested on 6 July on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York, and the case was still pending at the time of his death.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring an underage girl for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute in Florida. Despite federal officials having evidence from 36 girls, some as young as 14 years old, after less than 13 months in jail he was released for a year of probation on house arrest, until August 2010.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, News, US News