Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was charged on Monday for the first time with sex trafficking of a minor, as federal prosecutors accused her of grooming a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual acts with Mr. Epstein and later paying her. A new federal indictment filed in Manhattan charged that on multiple occasions between 2001 and 2004, the girl provided nude massages to Mr. Epstein at his Palm Beach, Florida, estate, during which he engaged in sex acts with her. The new charges against Ms. Maxwell go further than those contained in an earlier indictment that accused her of helping Mr. Epstein recruit, groom and ultimately sexually abuse girls, but did not include sex trafficking allegations. The new indictment says that after the girl provided Mr. Epstein with the massages, Ms. Maxwell or others who worked for him paid the girl hundreds of dollars in cash.

Source: New York Times March 29, 2021 21:00 UTC