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Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who spent years as a confidante of Jefferey Epstein, has been arrested by federal authorities.

Maxwell, who hasn’t been seen in public since Epstein allegedly killed himself in prison, was taken into custody in New Hampshire on Thursday morning.

Ghislaine Maxwell
(Getty)

For those unaware:

Epstein was an American financier, socialite and convicted sex offender.

He started his professional life as a teacher and then switched to the banking and finance sector in various roles, working at Bear Stearns before forming his own firm.

Epstein proceeded to developean elite social circle and procured numerous women, including underage girls, who were then sexually abused by Epstein and some of his contacts.

This is where Maxwell reportedly comes into the picture.

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The six-count indictment against Maxwell states that she took part “in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein.”

From 1994 to at least 1997:

“Maxwell assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18,” the 18-page indictment alleges.

"The victims were allegedly as young as 14."

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Epstein died by suicide in his New York City jail cell in August of 2019, about a month after his arrest.

He had been awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges at the time of his hanging.

He had pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking of dozens of underage girls, some as young as 14, from at least 2002 to 2005.

As for Maxwell?

She is accused of enticing “minor victims to travel to Epstein’s residences in different states, which Maxwell knew and intended would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse.”

The indictment also alleges that in 2016, Maxwell “provided false and perjurious statements, under oath, regarding, among other subjects, her role in facilitating the abuse of minor victims by Jeffrey Epstein.”

This case has also made headlines over the alleged involvement of Prince Andrew.

The royal has been accused of having sexual relations with a then-17-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre (pictured below), who claimed in a lawsuit that she was sex trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell.

Prince Andrew has previously said that he doesn’t recall ever meeting her.

However, a photo exists that appears to depicts Prince Andrew and the teen … believed to be taken inside the London home of Maxwell in 2001.

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"I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken," the Duke of York statement in a 2019 interview with the BBC.

"I don’t remember going upstairs in the house because that photograph was taken upstairs and I am not entirely convinced that… I mean that is… that is what I would describe as me in that.

"We can’t be certain as to whether or not that’s my hand on her whatever it is, left… left side."