nbcnewyork | Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and heiress who became a
confidante of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and was later
implicated in his alleged sexual crimes, has been arrested by the FBI.
She was arrested in Bradford, New Hampshire around 8:30 a.m. Thursday
on charges she conspired with Epstein to sexually abuse minors, and is
expected to appear in a federal court later today.
The six-count indictment in Manhattan federal court alleges that
Maxwell helped Epstein groom girls as young as 14 years old, going back
as far as 1994. She faces up to 35 years in prison.
"This case against Ghislaine Maxwell is the prequel to the earlier
case we brought against Jeffrey Epstein," Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney
Audrey Strauss said at a news conference on the indictment. The FBI
said that it had been tracking her movements for some time, though she
was not indicted until June 29.
