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March 29 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors in New York on Monday added two new sex trafficking charges against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of procuring underage girls for financier Jeffrey Esptein. Maxwell, already facing six counts of participating in a sex trafficking network run by Epstein, was hit with a superseding, eight-count indictment adding new charges of sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor, a court filing indicated.
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The new charges lengthen the duration of the alleged conspiracy and relate to an additional alleged victim of Epstein's sex ring identified as "Minor Victim-4."
"Whereas count one of the [initial] indictment alleged that this conspiracy lasted through in or about 1997, count one of the [superseding] indictment alleges that the conspiracy continued through in or about 2004 and specifically identifies a fourth victim, Minor Victim-4, who was a victim of this conspiracy between approximately 2001 and 2004," Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Comey wrote in a letter to Judge Alison Nathan.
Maxwell pleaded not guilty to the original counts on accusations that she helped Epstein sexually exploit and abuse multiple minor girls as young as 14 from 1994 to 1997.
The charges include conspiracy, perjury, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sexual acts and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. If convicted, Maxwell faces up to 35 years in prison.
She is scheduled to stand trial in July.
In December, Nathan denied Maxwell bail for a second time, deeming the 59-year-old a flight risk considering the severity of the charges she faces.
