Prosecutors charge Ghislaine Maxwell with sex trafficking of a minor for the first time. The charge comes with new allegations that she groomed and paid a 14-year-old girl to engage in sex acts with Jeffrey Epstein.
Until now, Maxwell had only been accused of assisting Epstein’s operation. The new charges suggest that prosecutors believe Maxwell is as responsible for these crimes as Epstein himself.
The alleged trafficking took place between 2001 and 2004, which broadens the scope of the case by seven years from the previous 1994-1997 period. Prosecutors say the girl, like previous victims, was also pressured to recruit new girls for Epstein.
Maxwell is also charged with transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, and perjury.
During the 1990s, Maxwell was so close to Donald Trump that he let her catch flights between New York and Palm Beach on his private jet–with his children, even though he wasn’t there.
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Photo: Frazer Harrison via The Daily Beast
