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Prosecutors said that former Jeffrey Epstein girlfriend and associate Ghislaine Maxwell was been isolated for her safety in a federal jail in Brooklyn, New York.
Maxwell, 58, asked to be released into the general population at the Metropolitan Detention Center and has been subjected to constant surveillance.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller said on Thursday that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is trying to protect Maxwell, according to a letter.
“For reasons including safety, security, and the orderly functioning of the facility, BOP has made the determination that, at present, the defendant should not be fully integrated into the dorm-style accommodations of the general population,” Rossmiller wrote. He added that the bureau “will continue to evaluate” Maxwell’s placement and won’t put her in the general population unless it will “not pose a threat to the orderly operation of the institution.”
Last month, Maxwell pleaded not guilty to eight federal counts related to Epstein including enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sexual acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy, and perjury. Namely, she’s accused of helping Epstein abuse girls as young as 14 in the early 1990s.
Epstein was found dead inside a Manhattan jail cell in August. Two jail guards were charged in the case for not checking in on him.
In this Sept. 2, 2000 file photo, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, driven by Britain’s Prince Andrew leaves the wedding of a former girlfriend of the prince, Aurelia Cecil, at the Parish Church of St Michael in Compton Chamberlayne near Salisbury, England. (Chris Ison/PA via AP, File)Lawyers for Maxwell stipulated that it’s not warranted because she “has never been suicidal and was never diagnosed as exhibiting risk factors for suicide.”
“Her cell is [still] searched multiple times a day and she has been forced to undergo numerous body scans,” her attorneys said, according to the New York Post.
The move came after a federal judge on Aug. 12 declined a request by Maxwell to delay the unsealing of court documents related to her dealings with Epstein. The attorneys sought a three-week-delay, which was denied by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska.
“Given that Ms. Maxwell is not at liberty to disclose this new information because it is subject to the protective order in the criminal action … the Court has no reasonable basis to impose a stay,” Preska wrote in an order. “Should the protective order in the criminal action be modified to permit disclosure of the relevant information to the Court, Ms. Maxwell may renew her request for a stay of the unsealing process.”
Maxwell’s attorneys had argued there was “critical new information” that should prevent the unsealing of the documents, but they did not specify what.
Focus News: Prosecutors: Ghislaine Maxwell Has Been Isolated for Her Safety