When Ghislaine Maxwell was buying a home in New England while federal prosecutors investigated her involvement with Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes against young girls, she reportedly had inquired about flight patterns over the massive escape property.
According to the Daily Beast, Maxwell's Bradford, New Hampshire home was purchased in an all-cash deal in December, with luxury features—where it appears she "slithered" away to "live a life of privilege," as the assistant director at the FBI Bill Sweeney put it during a press conference on Thursday.
When buyers were looking at the home, a British man told the broker he was buying a house in the U.S. after selling his tech company, the news outlet reported. They bought the home under an LLC, often used by buyers to shield who actually owns a property.
Maxwell—arrested on Thursday—wanted to know the flight patterns over the property as well, an unnamed broker who said she did not meet Maxwell herself, told the Daily Beast.
"They said they didn't want her name known, so I thought it must be a movie star," the broker said. "She wanted to know what the flight patterns were over the house, which was very strange."
A neighbor told the news website they heard helicopters buzzing overhead, with about six cars pulling in during Maxwell's arrest.
The Southern District of New York indicted her on charges of sex crimes against minors and perjury.
Between 1994 and 1997, Maxwell is accused of working with since-deceased Epstein, a financier, to entice girls as young as 14 for sexual abuse, according to the unsealed indictment. The grooming allegedly happened in places including New York, Florida, and New Mexico.
Maxwell would befriend the children "asking the victims about their lives, their schools, and their families," the indictment says.
Maxwell and Epstein would allegedly take girls to the movies or shopping, eventually normalizing sexual abuse by "discussing sexual topics, undressing in front of the victim, being present when a minor victim was undressed, and/or being present for sex acts involving the minor and Epstein."
Maxwell's presence as an adult woman helped the girls feel "at ease" during the abuse, and she would massage Epstein in front of children. Her perjury charge was a result of a false statement made in April 2016, in which she said she did not give anyone massages or know Epstein was involved in sexual activity with anyone but herself.
The 58-year-old socialite, the daughter of late British newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, is in federal custody. The detention memo alleges that Maxwell has 15 different bank accounts, "some with balances of more than $20 million, and that she holds other accounts in foreign countries containing more than $1 million," the Post reports.
A Southern District of New York spokesperson said she'll be arraigned next week.
Michelle Licata, a woman who has accused Epstein of abusing her, told CBS News, "It's definitely a win in our book."
But she also believes more co-conspirators are involved.
"You can't have two people just doing all the work, there has to be people helping them," Licata told the news channel.
Prince Andrew, a friend of Maxwell's, faced rising pressure from the federal prosecutors after her arrest to come forward and speak with prosecutors.
At the news conference on Thursday, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, Audrey Strauss, said, "We would welcome Prince Andrew coming in to talk with us."
"We would like to have the benefit of his statement," Strauss told reporters. "I have no further comment beyond what I just said, which is that our doors remain open, as we previously said, and we would welcome him coming in and giving us an opportunity to hear his statement."
A source close to the prince's working group was "bewildered" since they've sent the Department of Justice statements twice in the past month but haven't gotten a response, according to The Guardian.
Authorities have been working on the investigation into Maxwell's involvement with Epstein's alleged child sexual abuse patterns the past year, Strauss said.
"It's not easy to put together a case that goes back that far," she added.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges involving minors. The Medical Examiner ruled his death was a suicide. Footage from his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center apparently disappeared.
