Ghislaine Maxwell, 58, a former contact and close friend to Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested on Thursday. Federal authorities found the former madame – who worked with Epstein’s lavish and sordid estates – in New Hampshire. Maxwell’s connection to the late financier, pedophile and rapist led many to believe her arrest was a matter of when, not if.
Maxwell’s charges are very serious. The Southern District of New York has charged her with conspiracy to entice minors to engage in sex acts. Authorities arrested Jeffrey Epstein on similar charges. Maxwell went without incident and will appear virtually in court. Maxwell’s arrest comes almost one year after Epstein’s.
The grim nature of Epstein and Maxwell’s alleged crimes caught the attention of the nation when he was arrested last year. It was alleged that Maxwell and Epstein trafficked girls and young women to Epstein’s many lavish manor homes. There, they coerced the girls into engaging in sex acts with Epstein, Maxwell, and/or one of their many powerful and rich friends.
Maxwell’s role was both administrative and abusive. Unconfirmed reports hold that Maxwell used spreadsheets, enterprise cloud storage solutions and the like to keep track of Epstein’s comings and goings. Her connection to the network of powerful people that would visit Epstein’s properties makes her a person of interest in the investigation.
Shortly after entering custody last year, Epstein allegedly killed himself in his prison cell. The official report is that he committed suicide by hanging himself with a bedsheet. However, many pundits feel as though this is unlikely. Many allege it’s more likely that someone powerful killed Epstein so that he would not share his secrets.
This makes Ghislaine Maxwell one of the last people who might have inside knowledge of the operation of Epstein’s alleged sex ring. She might know which powerful people visited Epstein to take part in the illicit activity. As such, there is already speculation that she might meet a similar fate in custody as Epstein.
When officials found Epstein’s body, a thorough investigation followed. They discovered that the cameras watching his cell had malfunctioned the night he died. Further, both guards meant to check up on him had fallen asleep during their shift. What’s more, despite the suicide watch, they removed Epstein’s cell mate hours before Epstein died. This has led many to believe that his death is not a straightforward suicide.
