Though their romantic relationship reportedly didn't last, multiple reports point to the 1990s as when Maxwell would have transitioned into the role of "madam," who would recruit girls for him.

Epstein and Maxwell in 2005. Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Several women and federal prosecutors accuse Maxwell of befriending and grooming young girls who would then be abused by Epstein.

A grand jury indictment from the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan, accuses Maxwell of enticing minors to travel to engage in sexual acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual acts, and perjury.

The prosecutors say that, beginning in at least 1994, that Maxwell would seek out young women and, after building a rapport, she'd normalize sexual abuse by discussing sexual topics with them, undress in front of them, and being present as Epstein sexually abused them, the indictment alleges.

The indictment accuses Maxwell of having minors watch her give massages, including sexual massages, to Epstein and then have them join in. Sometimes they would be nude or partially nude during the massage, the documents say.

"These sexual massages developed into sexual encounters for which Maxwell, in some instances, was present and participated," Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, told reporters.

Prosecutors say abuse took place at Epstein's homes on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; in Palm Beach, Florida; and in New Mexico, as well as at Maxwell's home in London.

Before Maxwell's arrest, some victims had already come forward accusing her of this behavior.

Maria Farmer said last year that she met Maxwell at an art show in 1995. She alleged that months later, Maxwell sexually assaulted her alongside Epstein at a property in Ohio before molesting her 15-year-old sister at Epstein's New Mexico ranch, according to The Daily Beast.

She said Epstein later called her and invited her to New York to begin work as his art consultant, The Daily Beast reported. Instead, she said she was hired to become a "lookout for the front door" of Epstein's Manhattan mansion, where she said she manned the front door and kept "records of people who came to the home," many of whom were school-age girls, some in uniform, who were escorted upstairs.

"When I asked Maxwell why these young girls were coming over to the house so often she said that the girls were interviewing for modeling positions," Farmer said in the affidavit, according to The Daily Beast. "At the time, based on my observations at the home, it did not seem credible to me that these young girls were interviewing for modeling positions."

Another accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, alleged in court documents filed in 2017 that she was recruited by Maxwell to give Epstein massages while she was 15 and working as a towel girl at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. She alleged she spent the next four years under Epstein's control as a "sex slave."