Ghislaine Maxwell Claims She Was Abused by Jail Guard While Awaiting Trial
Written by SOURCE on February 17, 2021
Ghislaine Maxwell has leveled more criticism at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, claiming she has experienced health deterioration as well as abuse while behind bars.
According to the New York Daily News, Maxwell’s attorney Bobbi Sternheim has outlined the allegations in newly filed court documents. The letter was addressed to US District Judge Alison Nathan, who is presiding over Maxwell’s sex-trafficking case in connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
Sternheim claims her client is subjected to constant surveillance as well as four to five searches per day as she awaits trial on sex crime charges. Maxwell previously claimed officials at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn were going to extreme lengths to ensure she does not kill herself while at the facility. Epstein was found dead inside his jail cell in August 2019 as he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Officials determined the convicted sex offender died by suicide.
According to the letter, correctional officers at the federal jail typically follow Maxwell around with a hand-held camera every time she is moved, but there was an instance in which a guard allegedly refused to film during a pat-down search.
“Recently, out of view of the security camera, Ms. Maxwell was placed in her isolation cell and physically abused during a pat-down search,” the letter read. “When she asked that the camera be used to capture the occurrence, a guard replied ‘no.’ When Ms. Maxwell recoiled in pain and when she said she would report the mistreatment, she was threatened with disciplinary action.”
The letter continued: “Ms. Maxwell was the subject of further retaliation for reporting the abuse: a guard ordered Ms. Maxwell into a shower to clean, sanitize, and scrub the walls with a broom. Ms. Maxwell’s request to have the camera record the guard alone with her in the confined space was again denied.”
Sternheim also reiterated concern for Maxwell’s health. It was previously claimed that the conditions at the jail have had a detrimental affect on Maxwell’s well-being, as she is now “withering to a shell of her former self – losing weight, losing hair, and losing her ability to concentrate.” Sternheim claimed Maxwell as being deprived of sleep and was not given proper meals during her incarceration; however, the Bureau of Prisons has insisted jail staffers have taken steps to ensure Maxwell’s well-being.
“Since Ms. Maxwell’s arrival, she has been provided three meals a day in accordance with BOP policy and its National Menu,” Sophia Papapetru, a lawyer for the MDC, wrote to Judge Nathan last year. “Her medical records show that she currently weighs 134 pounds, which fluctuates plus or minus 2 pounds.”
Maxwell’s trial is expected to begin this summer. She has been charged with recruiting and grooming multiple underage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
