Ghislaine Maxwell speaks at the Arctic Circle Forum in Reykjavik, Iceland, in October 2013.
The Arctic Circle via Reuters
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is “languishing” in prison because of adverse conditions, which include alleged physical abuse by a guard and being forced to scrub the shower walls after reporting abuse, her lawyer said in a new letter to a Federal judge.
“It is impossible to overstate the harmful effect of the conditions under which Ms. Maxwell is detained,” wrote attorney Bobbi Sternheim to Manhattan District Court Judge Alison Nathan.
“She is withering even to the shell of her old self – losing weight, losing hair and losing her ability to concentrate,” wrote Sternheim of Maxwell, who is accused of crimes related to the alleged recruitment and preparation of underage girls who were later sexually abused by eccentric investment consultant Jeffrey Epstein and perjury.
The lawyer says that Maxwell’s “excessive management” and constant vigilance by guards at Brooklyn federal prison, in an apparent effort to prevent her from killing herself while in prison as Epstein did in 2019, “are affecting her resistance and effectiveness in prepare her defense and conference with the lawyer. “
Maxwell, 59, pleaded not guilty in the case, of which she was charged in July 2020, a year after Epstein’s arrest for child sex trafficking.
Epstein, 66, died of what was officially considered suicide when he was hanged a month after his federal arrest in Manhattan.
Maxwell, who was denied bail twice by Nathan, who considered it a risk of escape, is due to go on trial later this year.
His lawyers are committed to trying to increase his access to a laptop to prepare for the trial.
Sternheim’s letter, the latest in a series of complaints about the conditions in Maxwell’s prison, underscores the fact that his life for the past seven months has been very different from his days with Epstein, when they socialized with people like the former. presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew of Great Britain.
Sternheim complained that “the vagaries and delays” in moving Maxwell about 15 meters from an isolation cell are among the problems that hinder his ability to properly prepare for the trial.
The lawyer said that Maxwell’s frequent checks of guards, who have searched her physically about 1,400 times since last July 6, have found no contraband.
“Maxwell remains at the mercy of a rotating group of security officers who usually guard hundreds of inmates, but now focus their attention exclusively on a respectful, middle-aged preventive detainee,” wrote Sternheim.
“Recently, out of sight of the security camera, Ms. Maxwell was placed in her isolation cell and physically abused during a search. When she asked that the camera be used to capture the incident, a guard answered ‘no’. “
“When Mrs. Maxwell recoiled in pain and said she would report abuse, she was threatened with disciplinary action,” wrote Sternheim.
“Within a week and while the same team was in charge, Ms. Maxwell was the target of further retaliation for reporting abuse: a guard ordered Ms. Maxwell to bathe to clean, sanitize and scrub the walls with a broom. . Maxwell’s request for the camera to register the guard alone with her in the confined space was again denied. “
Maxwell’s surveillance is so strict, Sternheim said, that “guards forbid” Maxwell to stay in certain areas of his nearly two-by-three-meter-high cell, including telling her not to stay left or right over the bathroom .
The lawyer also said that Maxwell “continues to have serious problems with the food provided to her”, including repeatedly being denied some or all parts of her meals.
“During her detention, she never received a properly heated meal,” wrote Sternheim.
Maxwell receives food routinely in a container that should not be used in the microwave, but her team goes to the microwave anyway, said the lawyer.
“Mrs. Maxwell’s food either does not thaw the food or disintegrates it and melts the plastic container, making the food inedible,” wrote Sternheim.
“While the guards finally recognized serious problems with the food, they continued to cook Ms. Maxwell’s food in the microwave, making the food unpalatable and dangerous to eat and leaving Mrs. Maxwell without a meal and without replacement.”
“At the end of last week, the guards informed Mrs. Maxwell that hereafter her food will be heated in a thermal oven, like that of all other inmates. While this may be an improvement, it does little to correct seven months of deprivation. that affect her nutrition and harm her health, “wrote the lawyer.
Sternheim also noted that prosecutors confirmed that guards point a flashlight at the ceiling of Maxwell’s cell “every 15 minutes, from approximately 9:30 pm to 6:30 am”.
“It is difficult to verbally convey the power of a light that bounces off a concrete ceiling in a two by three meter concrete box and hits Mrs. Maxwell’s eyes, interrupting her sleep and the ability to have any night’s rest.”
“The mitigating effects of sleep deprivation are well documented,” wrote the lawyer.