Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested by FBI in New Hampshire
On July 2, 2020 — nearly one year after Epstein's death — FBI agents arrest Ghislaine Maxwell at her rural New Hampshire property. She had been in hiding for months. She is charged by the SDNY with multiple counts including sex trafficking conspiracy and enticement of minors. She is remanded to detention and held without bail for over a year before trial.
People Involved
On July 2, 2020, FBI agents arrested Ghislaine Maxwell at a 156-acre property in Bradford, New Hampshire, where she had been living secretly, with restricted communications and limited contact with the outside world. The property had been purchased under a trust.
Maxwell’s arrest came nearly 11 months after Epstein’s death and after sustained public pressure on federal prosecutors to charge her. She had been a fugitive from accountability if not technically from law — staying in the United States but making herself extremely difficult to locate.
Charges
The SDNY unsealed an indictment charging Maxwell with six counts:
- Enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity
- Transporting a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity
- Conspiracy to entice a minor
- Conspiracy to transport a minor
- Perjury in a civil deposition (later superseded)
- Sex trafficking of a minor
Detention Proceedings
Maxwell sought bail — offering a substantial bail package and home confinement. Prosecutors argued she was an extreme flight risk: a British citizen with resources, foreign passports, and significant motivation to flee. The court agreed; Maxwell was detained without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Her attorneys filed multiple bail applications citing concerns about her detention conditions. All were denied.
Maxwell’s arrest was welcomed by survivors and victims’ advocates, who had long argued she was equally responsible for Epstein’s crimes and should face prosecution. The SDNY’s willingness to charge her — absent Epstein as a cooperating defendant — reflected the independent evidentiary case built from depositions, flight records, and victim testimony.