Ghislaine Maxwell speaks at the Arctic Circle Forum in Reykjavik, Iceland, October 2013.
The Arctic Circle via Reuters
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell “withers” in prison over harsh conditions, including alleged physical abuse by a guard and scrubbing shower walls after reporting the assault, her lawyer says in a new letter to a federal judge.
“It is impossible to exaggerate the damaging effect of the conditions under which Ms. Maxwell is being held,” the attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, wrote to Alison Nathan, a Manhattan District Court judge.
“She is withering into a shell of her former self – losing weight, losing her and losing her ability to concentrate,” wrote Sternheim of Maxwell, who is charged with crimes related to the alleged recruitment and care of underage girls who were later sexually abused by eccentrics. investment advisor Jeffrey Epstein, and of perjury.
The attorney says that ‘overcontrol’ and constant surveillance of Maxwell by guards at the federal prison in Brooklyn, in an apparent effort to prevent her from committing suicide while incarcerated like Epstein did in 2019, ‘affects her stamina and effectiveness. when preparing her. defense and consultation with counsel. “
Maxwell, 59, pleaded not guilty to the case, in which she was charged in July 2020, a year after Epstein’s arrest on charges of child trafficking.
Epstein, 66, died of what was officially ruled suicide by hanging a month after his arrest in federal prison in Manhattan.
Maxwell, who has been twice denied bail by Nathan, who considered her a flight risk, has to face trial later this year.
Her lawyers are trying to give her more access to a laptop in preparation for her trial.
Sternheim’s letter, the latest in a string of complaints about Maxwell’s prison conditions, underscores the fact that her life over the past seven months was very different from her days with Epstein, when she interacted with the likes of former Presidents Donald Trump. and Bill Clinton. , and the British Prince Andrew.
Sternheim complained that “the whims and delays” of moving Maxwell 50 feet from an isolation cell are among the problems that impair her ability to adequately prepare for the trial.
The lawyer said Maxwell’s frequent checks of guards, who have physically searched her about 1,400 times since July 6 last year, have yielded no contraband.
“Maxwell is still at the mercy of a revolving group of security agents who are used to guarding hundreds of inmates, but now focus their undivided attention solely on one respectful, middle-aged female on remand,” Sternheim wrote.
Recently, Ms. Maxwell was placed out of sight of the security camera in her isolation cell and physically assaulted during a search. When she asked to use the camera to capture the incident, a security guard answered ‘no’.
“When Ms. Maxwell recoiled from the pain and said she would report the assault, she was threatened with disciplinary action,” Sternheim wrote.
Within a week and with the same team in charge, Ms. Maxwell was the subject of further retaliation for reporting the abuse: a security guard ordered Ms. Maxwell to take a shower to clean, disinfect and scrub the walls with a “broom. Maxwell’s request for the camera to record the guard alone with her in the confined space was again denied.”
Maxwell’s security is so strict, Sternheim said, that “ guards ” forbid Maxwell from standing in certain areas of her six-foot by six-foot cell, including telling her not to go left or right over her toilet. stand.
The attorney also said that Maxwell “continues to have serious problems with the food provided to her,” including repeatedly refusing some or all of her meals.
“She was never given a properly heated meal during her detention,” Sternheim wrote.
Maxwell routinely gets food in a container not intended for use in a microwave, but the staff put her food in the microwave anyway, the attorney said.
“Mrs. Maxwell’s food does not defrost or disintegrate the food and melt the plastic container, rendering the food inedible,” Sternheim wrote.
“While the guards finally recognized that there were serious problems with the food, they continued to eat Mrs. Maxwell in the microwave, making the food inedible and dangerous for consumption, leaving Mrs. Maxwell with no meal and no replacement.”
At the end of last week, guards informed Ms. Maxwell that in the future her food will be heated in a thermal oven, like all other inmates. While this may be an improvement, it does little to correct seven months of deprivation that of affect her diet and harm her health, ”the lawyer wrote.
Sternheim also noted that prosecutors have confirmed that guards fire a flashing light 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 bouncing off a concrete ceiling in a six-by-nine-foot concrete box in Mrs. Maxwell’s eyes, giving her sleep and the ability to have a good night. , is disturbed. “
“The soothing effects of sleep deprivation are well documented,” the lawyer wrote.