While she might have fallen off our daily news radar, prison guards certainly haven't forgotten about Ghislaine Maxwell.
According to a CNN report, the longtime confident of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been placed in quarantine at New York City's Metropolitan Detention Centre following a COVID-19 scare within the facility's staff.
Addressed in a letter to a Manhattan judge, Maxwell's attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, declared that her client has essentially been held in a "de facto solitary confinement under the more restrictive conditions".
Subjected to what are being called 'excessive and invasive searches', Sternheim claims that Maxwell's sleep has also been frequently disrupted.
“Despite non-stop in-cell camera surveillance Ms. Maxwell’s sleep is disrupted every 15 minutes when she is awakened by a flashlight to ascertain whether she is breathing,” Sternheim wrote.
According to prior court fillings, Maxwell is also being monitored by prison psychologists for several hours a day without her knowledge.
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Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 on criminal charges linked to Epstein's reported sex-trafficking operation. She was accused of helping him to "recruit, groom and ultimately abuse" multiple girls, including one as young as 14. She also faces perjury charges. Maxwell was denied bail and her trial is set for July 2021, according to the New York Times.
Said security has stepped up following the death of Epstein in August 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges at a different federal facility, Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Centre.
In a report by NBC, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner continues to claim that Epstein died by suicide, despite various other reports claiming that his death 'pointed to homicide'.
According to prosecutors, his fate was sealed since the two guards outside his room were napping and online shopping while they were supposed to be monitoring his activity. Both guards have pleaded not guilty to their charges.
