Shortly before the sentence was announced, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex trafficking with minors, was transferred to solitary confinement. Her lawyer contradicts the alleged risk of suicide.
The longtime confidant of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, was placed under increased surveillance shortly before her sentence was announced for alleged suicidal tendencies, according to her lawyer. Lawyer Bobbi Sternheim explained that the prison had not previously ordered a psychological examination and did not justify the measure. Should her client remain under increased surveillance, Sternheim wants to apply for the sentence to be postponed.
Maxwell has been in prison for two years. Last December, a New York jury found the British woman guilty of child sex trafficking. Her sentence is expected to be announced on Tuesday. The prosecution has called for a prison sentence of between 30 and 55 years for the 60-year-old.
Back in solitary confinement
Maxwell has been in solitary confinement since Friday, Sternheim wrote in a letter to Judge Alison Nathan. On Saturday, however, a psychologist examined the 60-year-old and “found that she was not suicidal.”
The prison also denied her access to court documents and time to meet with her lawyers. Therefore, her client could not prepare for the pronouncement of the sentence. If the restrictions continue, she will apply for a postponement of the sentencing on Monday, Sternheim said.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 while on remand. The authorities assume suicide. After the billionaire’s death, US justice promised to hold his accomplices accountable.
Serious allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell
Maxwell was eventually found guilty of years of recruiting young girls to be sexually abused by the well-connected financial investor, who was also accused of placing girls with other men.
The daughter of the late British media mogul Robert Maxwell is said to have acted in a highly perfidious manner. According to the indictment, she befriended young girls, the youngest of whom was only 14, took them to the movies or went shopping and then handed them over to the multi-millionaire.
Maxwell persuaded the teens to travel to Epstein’s homes in New York, Florida and New Mexico and massage the multi-millionaire naked before they were abused.
“Key” for the Eppstein system
Maxwell was a “sophisticated sex offender who knew exactly what she was doing,” prosecutor Alison Moe said in her closing argument in December. Maxwell was “the key” in Epstein’s abuse system. According to prosecutors, Maxwell was handsomely rewarded for this: Between 1999 and 2007, Epstein transferred her $ 30 million (28.4 million euros).
Maxwell has denied all allegations. Her defense argued that the Briton had to be used as a “scapegoat” because Epstein could not be tried after his death. After the guilty verdict, the defense called for a new trial because of a jury’s abuse experiences that only became known afterwards. The application was rejected in early April.
Maxwell’s attorneys have sought a sentence of less than 20 years in prison. They argued that Maxwell’s “traumatic childhood with a domineering, narcissistic and demanding father” made her “vulnerable to Epstein.”
