Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims are calling the arrest of his confidant and accused madam, Ghislaine Maxell, “long overdue” and “a great day for justice.”
Maxwell, the 58-year-old former girlfriend of Epstein, was arrested in New Hampshire on Thursday morning on multiple sex abuse charges, including conspiracy to entice minors to engage in sexual acts.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S CONFIDANT GHISLAINE MAXWELL ARRESTED ON SEXUAL ABUSE CHARGES
Jennifer Araoz, a woman who said she was sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell, said Maxwell's arrest "means some justice for survivors can exist."
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell together in New York City on March 15, 2005. (Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
“For years, I feared Epstein and his ring. Maxwell was the center of that sex trafficking ring,” she said in an emailed statement.
“Now that the ring has been taken down, I know that I can’t be hurt anymore. 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.”
Gloria Allred, who represents 16 of Epstein’s accusers, said in a statement that “we do hope that finally, she will be accountable” for her alleged role.
“To date, there has been no justice for them in the criminal justice system,” Allred said of the accusers. “A number of them were sex trafficked to Jeffrey Epstein when they were minors. They are still suffering the impact of their victimization today.”
Attorney Lisa Bloom said Maxwell's "brutal, ruthless behavior" caused her client great pain.
"We applaud her long overdue arrest today," Bloom said in a written statement. "All others accused of enabling Jeffrey Epstein's predations must immediately be brought to justice as well."
Attorney David Boies, who represents some of Epstein’s accusers, said it “is a great day for justice.”
“Jeffrey Epstein did not and could not have acted alone,” he said in a written statement. “Our clients are very pleased, and very grateful, to the prosecutors, that this important step has been taken towards bringing Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirators to justice.”
Victim attorney Spencer T. Kuvin called Maxwell’s arrest “welcomed news,” adding that Maxwell will hopefully be the first of many co-conspirators “to face the consequences of their horrific crimes.”
“The arrest and successful prosecution of Ms. Maxwell and other co-conspirators brings this sad story full circle to a close,” Kuvin said.
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Meanwhile, Laura Goldman, who says she is a friend Maxwell's family, told Fox News that “I hope the real story comes out.”
“And what I mean by that is, yes, it seems like she did some of the awful things that she's been accused of,” Goldman said. “But I think you will also find that she's a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, just like everybody else.”
Goldman said that while reports indicated Maxwell’s alleged role in recruiting girls, she believes Maxwell had tried multiple times to leave Epstein’s inner circle.
“What I'm more sad [about] is that she had such low self-esteem, such, she was so beaten down for whatever reason, had so little confidence in her own abilities, that she couldn't break away and say, 'This is wrong,'" Goldman said.
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Epstein, 66, faced sex-trafficking charges at the time of his death last year and was awaiting trial in a case that, if convicted, could have put him behind bars for several years before his August 10 jail-cell suicide.
Fox News' Marta Dhanis, Kathleen Reuschle, Bryan Llenas, and Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.
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