Epstein companion arrested in young-girls sex case

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested Thursday on charges that she helped lure at least three girls -- one as young as 14 -- to be sexually abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein was accused of victimizing dozens of girls and women over many years.

According to the indictment, Maxwell, who lived for years with Epstein and was his frequent companion on trips around the world, facilitated his crimes and on some occasions joined him in sexually abusing the girls.

Epstein, 66, killed himself in a federal detention center in New York last summer while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

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Maxwell has, for years, been accused by many women of acting as a madam for Epstein, helping him scout for young girls, then hiring them to give him massages, during which the girls were pressured into sex acts.

In one lawsuit, a woman said Maxwell was the "highest-ranking employee" of Epstein's alleged sex trafficking enterprise. Those accusations, until now, never resulted in criminal charges.

The 58-year-old was arrested in Bradford, N.H., where she was living on a wooded estate that she bought for $1 million in December. The FBI had been keeping tabs on her after she disappeared from public view following Epstein's arrest a year ago.

"More recently we learned she had slithered away to a gorgeous property in New Hampshire, continuing to live a life of privilege while her victims live with the trauma inflicted upon them years ago," William Sweeney, head of the FBI's New York office, said at a news conference Thursday.

Jennifer Araoz, who says Epstein raped her when she was 15, said she feared the financier's ring of conspirators for years.

"Now that the ring has been taken down, I know that I can't be hurt anymore," Araoz, now 33, said in a statement. "Day after day, I have waited for the news that Maxwell would be arrested and held accountable for her actions. Her arrest is a step in that direction, and it truly means that the justice system didn't forget about us."

The indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, included counts of conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

She was also accused of perjuring herself during a deposition in a civil lawsuit over the reported abuse.

"Maxwell lied because the truth, as alleged, was almost unspeakable," said Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

Messages were sent Thursday to several of Maxwell's attorneys seeking comment. She has previously repeatedly denied wrongdoing and called some claims against her "absolute rubbish."

At a brief hearing Thursday, a magistrate judge ordered Maxwell to remain in custody while she is transferred to New York for a detention hearing there.

Among the most sensational accusations was a claim by Virginia Roberts Giuffre that Maxwell arranged for her to have sex with Britain's Prince Andrew at her London townhouse. Giuffre bolstered her allegations with a picture of her, Andrew and Maxwell that she said was taken at the time.

Andrew denied her story, and Maxwell said in a deposition that Giuffre was "totally lying."

The prince was not mentioned in the indictment, and the charges covered Maxwell's dealings with Epstein from 1994-97, a period well before his alleged encounters with Giuffre in 2001.

Information for this article was contributed by Curt Anderson and Danica Kirka of The Associated Press.