‘FOR HER OWN SAFETY’ Ghislaine Maxwell at serious risk of being beaten or killed by fellow prisoners, prosecutors reveal
Joseph Gamp
THE SUN
GHISLAINE Maxwell is being held in solitary confinement in a notorious Brooklyn jail for her own safety, prosecutors have said.
The British socialite, 58, remains in custody at New York’s Metropolitan Detention Centre, awaiting trial over her alleged involvement in the crimes of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Prosecutors say Maxwell remains in isolation for reasons of “safety, security, and the orderly functioning of the facility”. Credit: Reuters
Maxwell, 58, has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and eventually abuse three girls from 1994 to 1997, and committing perjury by denying her involvement under oath.
In a letter dated 10 August, Maxwell’s lawyers objected to her being subjected to round-the-clock surveillance and numerous body scans at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
They say she belongs in the general population rather than in her cell for 21 hours a day.
Maxwell was arrested last month when FBI agents raided a property in New Hampshire.
She now faces charges of enticement of minors, sex trafficking, and perjury, though denies wrongdoing.
The circumstances of Epstein’s death meant she was initially placed on suicide watch, having to wear paper clothes and sleep on a bare mattress.
She now faces charges of enticement of minors, sex trafficking, and perjuryCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Those conditions have now been eased, but she remains in solitary confinement.
Recent court filings show her lawyers claim that she is being held in “uniquely onerous conditions”.
Prosecutors said Maxwell was isolated for reasons of “safety, security, and the orderly functioning of the facility,” and that it was appropriate to closely monitor new inmates facing a “strong likelihood” of many years in prison.
They nonetheless said jail officials agreed to give Maxwell 13 hours a day to review materials for her scheduled July 2021 trial, rather than the normal three hours.
Prosecutors also said they have acted “expeditiously” in turning over materials, and Maxwell can request victims’ names and make other motions in December after discovery is finished.
In a letter on Thursday to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan, prosecutors also said it was “at best premature” to require they identify three alleged victims named in Maxwell’s indictment.
Lawyers for Maxwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Epstein was found hanged at age 66 last August in a Manhattan jail, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell is separately asking a federal appeals court to block the release from a separate lawsuit of a 2016 deposition about her sex life, saying publicity could make getting a fair trial impossible.
Oral arguments are scheduled for the 22 September.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/1310929/ghislaine-maxwell-prosecution-brooklyn-prison/