Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime associate, has been arrested, source says

Maxwell was taken into custody and is expected to have a court appearance later today, the person said. It’s not clear where she was arrested or where her initial court appearance will occur.

Maxwell, whose whereabouts have been unclear since the arrest last summer of Epstein, has been under investigation by the Manhattan US Attorney’s office for facilitating Epstein’s recruitment of young girls and women. She has been named in multiple lawsuits by women who said they have been abused by Epstein.

Prior to his death, Epstein faced charges of having run a trafficking enterprise in which he paid hundreds of dollars in cash to girls as young as 14 to have sex with him at his Upper East Side home and his estate in Palm Beach, worked with employees and associates to lure the girls to his residences and paid some of his victims to recruit other girls for him to abuse.

In the wake of Epstein’s suicide in August 2019, public pressure has mounted to hold those who assisted him — perhaps including Maxwell and a coterie of young women who allegedly worked under her — accountable not only for his actions, but also for their own roles.

In that investigation, Maxwell has remained a significant target. She has denied wrongdoing, and in a deposition has called at least one of her accusers “a liar.”

source: cnn.com