Maxwell's arrest signals Epstein probe goes on

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested by the FBI on Thursday on charges she helped procure underage sex partners for financier Jeffrey Epstein.

An indictment made public Thursday said Maxwell, who lived for years with Epstein and was his frequent travel companion on trips around the world, facilitated Epstein's crimes by "helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse " girls as young as 14. It also said she participated in the sexual abuse.

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

Attorney David S. Weinstein a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in Miami, who works in the government practices and white-collar criminal defense group at the firm says that with Epstein dead, the charges against Maxwell show prosecutors are committed to giving victims their day in court, all while ensuring their investigation doesn't end.

"There were also rumblings after Epstein had passed away that they were still looking at Maxwell. And, you know, as the U.S. attorney stated today and FBI, this is an ongoing investigation. They're still pursuing additional victims," he told the Associated Press.

"And what they're doing is making sure that the victims receive their day in court and that their investigation is not simply going to end," he added.

Weinstein says if convicted, Maxwell faces years in prison.

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.

As a result to the coronavirus pandemic; however, Weinstein says her attorneys are likely to contest how long she is held.

"Given the pandemic, as much as things are under control in New York, it's going to be quite some time before they're gonna be able to impanel a jury to bring this case for trial.

And that may be something certainly that her lawyers are going to argue about," he said.

Maxwell has, for years, been accused by many women of recruiting them to give Epstein massages, during which they were pressured into sex.

Those accusations, until now, never resulted in criminal charges.

Maxwell, 58, was arrested in New Hampshire, where the FBI said it had been keeping tabs on her.

The indictment 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, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and two counts of perjury.

Acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan Audrey Strauss called the charges against Maxwell a "prequel" to the charges prosecutors brought last summer against Epstein.

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

In a memo seeking Maxwell's detention, prosecutors wrote that she "poses an extreme risk of flight."

Maxwell has three passports, is wealthy with lots of international connections, and has "absolutely no reason to stay in the United States and face the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence," they wrote.