Ghislaine Maxwell Is Now Charged With Sex-Trafficking a 14-Year-Old
Published Date: 3/30/2021
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, faces two additional criminal charges and a new accuser who prosecutors say was about 14 when she was groomed as a victim of the duo’s alleged sex-trafficking scheme. The revised indictment raises the already steep stakes for Maxwell, 59, who could spend decades in prison if convicted. Her lawyers have argued that the government’s case is weak because it’s based on decades-old allegations from three women. On Monday, prosecutors added more heft to it, expanding the time frame of the alleged crimes from a few years in the 1990s to a decade and directly accusing Maxwell of sex trafficking of minors stretching into 2004. They had already accused her of engaging in a conspiracy with Epstein by helping recruit and groom victims and of participating in some of the alleged abuse. The new sex-trafficking charge alone carries a maximum statutory prison sentence of 40 years. The girl, identified as Minor Victim-4, brought other girls to Epstein to provide him with sexualized massages, and Maxwell and other Epstein employees paid them hundreds of dollars, according to the new indictment. The government says some of the alleged crimes occurred at Maxwell’s London townhouse. Maxwell is scheduled to go on trial on July 12. Her lawyer Laura Menninger didn’t reply to an email seeking comment on the revised indictment. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake