NEW YORK – Accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was “physically abused” by a correctional officer during a routine search in prison, her lawyer said yesterday.
Maxwell, the former partner of disgraced United States financier Jeffrey Epstein, was then threatened with retaliation after saying she will report the incident, said Bobbi Sternheim.
He made the allegation in a letter to New York judge Alison Nathan complaining about Maxwell’s conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.
“Recently, out of view of the security camera, Ms Maxwell was placed in her isolation cell and physically abused during a pat-down search.”
A week later, the same team of guards “ordered” her into a shower “to clean, sanitise and scrub the walls with a broom”.
Maxwell’s lawyers have repeatedly complained about their client’s jail conditions in the hope of getting her released on bail.
Nathan most recently denied her bail last December, deeming Maxwell a flight risk.
Her lawyers said she is subjected to excessive surveillance, including a flashlight pointed at her cell every 15 minutes from 9.30pm to 6.30am.
Maxwell is accused of recruiting underage girls for Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The daughter of late newspaper baron Robert is due to go on trial this summer, although it may be delayed because of the pandemic.
Prosecutors also accuse the British socialite of lying in testimony she gave in 2016 in a defamation case filed against her by long-time Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Maxwell, 59, faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted in the case, which covers alleged crimes from 1994 to 1997. – AFP, February 17, 2021
