Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested, Refutes Sex Trafficking Charges

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former companion of Jeffrey Epstein's, who was arrested on the charges of grooming girls, as young as 14, for sexual abuse and allegedly participating herself, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Maxwell was arrested recently by the FBI in Bedford, New Hampshire, and has appeared in a federal court in New Hampshire via a video call from the Brooklyn jail where she is currently detained, without bond, as her prosecutors describe her as a flight risk.

After the charges against her were read out, she was asked how she wished to plead to which she answered "not guilty, your honor," according to multiple news outlets.

The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell

The 58-year-old has been charged with six felonies- conspiracy, enticing minors to engage in illegal sexual activities, sex trafficking of minor for illegal sexual activities, as well as perjury.

The charges have been described in detail by Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, during a press conference held earlier in July 2020. She chronicled the charges leveled against her to cover a period starting from 1994 to 1997.

Maxwell, who is a British socialite, was Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and aided him to "identify, befriend and groom minor victims of abuse” via a “method” they had. It involved befriending girls by "asking them questions about their lives and pretending to be taking an interest in them."

"After developing a rapport with the victims, Maxwell then tried to normalize sexual abuse with a minor victim through a process known as grooming," Strauss shared, adding that Maxwell would proceed to discuss sexual topics with the girls, which were followed by "sexualized massages, during which the minor victims were fully or partially nude." She alleged these encounters "developed into sexual encounters, where Maxwell was sometimes present and participated."

Maxwell would often undress in front of them and would be present in the room to assist and many times even participated when Epstein would sexually abuse the minors.

The allegations listed by Strauss also alleged that whenever Epstein would transport girls to his various homes in New York City, Palm Beach, etc, Maxwell helped him.