British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell arrested, charged in Epstein case
Updated 5.15pm
Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of late financier Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested in the US on Thursday and charged with six counts of sexual abuse related to the ongoing Epstein sex crimes investigation.
The daughter of late newspaper baron Robert Maxwell was detained "without incident" in Bradford, New Hampshire at 8:30 am (1330 GMT) Boston FBI spokesperson Kristen Setera told AFP.
A spokesman for the Southern District of New York, which is investigating whether Epstein had any accomplices, said she had been charged "for her role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein."
Epstein, 66, hanged himself in a New York cell in August last year while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking minors for sex. He had pleaded not guilty.
Several of his accusers have said the 58-year-old Maxwell maintained a network of girls to perform sexual favors for Epstein, a registered sex offender who hobnobbed with the rich and famous.
Maxwell's whereabouts have been unknown since Epstein's arrest in July 2019, sparking a tabloid frenzy to try to track her down and rumors about where she might be.
The English socialite is a long-time...