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Ghislaine Maxwell faces constant surveillance in her new prison due to safety concerns after she was sentenced to 20 years behind bars yesterday.
The convicted sex trafficker, 60, is likely to serve her sentence at the low-security Danbury, Connecticut, federal prison that inspired Orange Is The New Black.
But as a high-profile sex offender, the British socialite could be a likely target in the prison known as ‘Club Fed’ for its cushy programs for inmates, including a ‘wide variety of hobby craft and music’ as well as circuit training, aerobics and over 50 fitness classes.
Maxwell’s legal team claimed a fellow prisoner was previously offered money to strangle her in her sleep in Brooklyn and there were also fears she could be shot dead by a sniper.
On top of the potential violence from other inmates, she was also placed on suicide watch out of concerns she would follow her former lover Jeffrey Epstein in killing herself in prison.
Sarah Krissoff, a white collar crime partner at Day Pitney, told the MailOnline: ‘There is no doubt that Maxwell dealt with challenging conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center, particularly in light of the fact that she was imprisoned during Covid.
‘Now that she is sentenced, she will be transferred to a facility for sentenced inmates.
Ghislaine Maxwell faces constant surveillance in her new prison due to safety concerns after she was sentenced to 20 years behind bars yesterday
Maxwell’s legal team claimed a fellow prisoner was previously offered money to strangle her in her sleep in Brooklyn
The convicted sex trafficker, 60, is likely to serve her sentence at the Danbury, Connecticut, federal prison that inspired Orange Is The New Black
Danbury Federal Correctional Institution, which opened in August 1940, has held previous inmates including singer Lauryn Hill, reality TV star Teresa Giudice, and is thought to be the inspiration for the Netflix show ‘Orange is the New Black’
‘Those facilities are much better equipped to handle inmates who are incarcerated for long periods of time and offer a wider array of services, such as educational and recreational programming and more extensive medical and mental health services.
‘The Bureau of Prisons generally designates defendants who are convicted of sex-relates crimes, or crimes against children, to a few facilities that are experienced in handling those types of inmates, so I expect they will be able to handle the safety concerns.’
The lawyer added: ‘Maxwell’s lawyers have repeatedly indicated that she is not a suicide risk, and it generally isn’t feasible to have someone on suicide watch for an extended period of time.’
Maxwell reported that jail staff in Brooklyn had threatened her safety, prompting employees to place her on suicide watch, prosecutors had said.
In court filings on Saturday before her sentencing, Maxwell’s lawyers said she was placed on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) and asked for a delay to her sentencing.
On Sunday, prosecutors argued no delay was needed because Maxwell had her legal documents and could get the same amount of sleep.
They said Maxwell was transferred after reporting threats to her safety by MDC staff to the federal Bureau of Prisons’ inspector general.
There are fears for her safety following Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide in his cell in 2019, after Maxwell was placed under suicide watch in her Brooklyn jail
Aerial photos show the prison, which boasts a running track, a baseball pitch and a well-manicured lawn with trees and pathways
Maxwell refused to elaborate about why she feared for her safety, prosecutors said. She told psychology staff she was not suicidal.
On Saturday, Bobbi Sternheim, who represents Maxwell, submitted a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathon, stating that she had been placed on suicide watch.
Sternheim claimed this was done ‘without having conducted a psychological evaluation and without justification,’ with Maxwell allegedly wearing a ‘suicided smock,’ a large piece of fabric that can’t be used to fashion a noose, and placed in solitary confinement.
Sternheim argued Maxwell’s sentencing needed to be postponed while she remains on suicide watch, even if the lawyer claimed she ‘is not suicidal.’
Sternheim condemned the treatment of her client, who she said was not event permitted to hold a pen or paper inside solitary confinement.
‘If Ms. Maxwell remains on suicide watch, is prohibited from reviewing legal materials prior to sentencing, becomes sleep deprived, and is denied sufficient time to meet with and confer with counsel, we will be formally moving on Monday for an adjournment,’ Sternheim wrote.
Maxwell was convicted on December 29 on five criminal counts, including sex trafficking, for recruiting and grooming four girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.
A former federal prosecutor said Maxwell is unlikely to ever divulge what she knows about Epstein’s trafficking scheme.
Maxwell has long been accused of knowing sordid details about Epstein and his potential co-conspirators, but has showed no signs of cooperating with federal investigators.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who is now a litigator in Los Angeles, believes that Maxwell’s actions and decisions to date suggest that she will never cooperate against Epstein’s potential co-conspirators.
‘She’s dug in her heels — she pushed this case to trial, she made all these women testify, and revictimized them by making them repeat their stories in court,’ Rhamani told DailyMail.com in an interview shortly after the sentencing.
‘If you wanted the full benefit of cooperation, you wouldn’t do any of this,’ he added. ‘I haven’t seen anything that leads me to believe that anyone else is going to be prosecuted in this case.’
Epstein, who died behind bars in 2019 in what was ruled a suicide, sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 14, prosecutors say.
Following her sentencing on Tuesday, Sternheim vowed to appeal, saying that Epstein had left Maxwell ‘holding the whole bag.’
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, believes Maxwell is unlikely to ever divulge what she knows about Epstein’s crimes
Rahmani, who is not connected to the case but spoke as a legal expert, observed that Maxwell’s plan to appeal makes it extremely unlikely that she will cooperate with investigators.
‘The problem with cooperation is you’re essentially waiving your right to appeal,’ he said.
‘You have to admit to participating in the trafficking and abuse of these young girls for the cooperation to mean anything,’ he added. ‘She’s much more likely to take her chances on appeal.’
Rahmani noted that it is possible for offenders to give evidence against co-conspirators after their sentencing, in exchange for a shot at a reduced sentence — but it is extremely rare.
‘It’s not too late, although people who cooperate usually plead guilty. Or once they are convicted and see the writing on the wall, then they cooperate,’ he said.
Rahmani said that Maxwell’s statement at sentencing — in which she blamed Epstein and cast herself as another victim — signaled that she is unlikely to provide evidence to investigators.
Ghislaine Maxwell defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim talks to the media outside the US District Court for the Southern District of New York after the sentencing
Maxwell told the court at the sentencing that she empathized with the victims in the case, but refused to admit her guilt and laid blame for the abuse on Epstein, saying meeting him was the ‘greatest regret of my life.’
‘Her non-apology apology today leads me to believe she is not going to cooperate,’ Rahmani said. ‘Those aren’t statements from someone who is accepting responsibility, who is remorseful, and is going to help the government bring other people to justice.’
‘Anything is possible, but Maxwell seems like a total narcissist,’ he added. ‘She really does believe she’s a victim, and she’s suffered this grave injustice.’
Maxwell’s trial revolved around allegations from only a handful of Epstein’s accusers.
Four testified that they were abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s mansions in Florida, New York, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.
Fellow victims listen tearfully as Sarah Ransome reads a victim impact statement ahead of Maxwell’s sentencing
GHISLAINE’S STATEMENT AT SENTENCING HEARING IN FULL
Your honor, it is hard for me to address the court after listening to the pain and anguish expressed today.
The terrible impact on the lives of so many women is difficult to hear and even more difficult to absorb, both in its scale and extent.
I acknowledge their suffering and empathize deeply with all of the victims in this case.
I also acknowledge with that I have been a victim of helping Jeffrey Epstein commit these crimes.
I realize I have been convicted of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to commit these crimes. My association with Epstein will permanently stain me.
It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met him.
I believe Jeffrey Epstein fooled all of those in his orbit. His victims considered him a mentor, friend, lover.
It is absolutely unfathomable today to think that was how he was viewed contemporaneously.
His impact on all those close to him has been devastating. And today, those who even knew him briefly or never met him but were associated with someone who did, have lost relationships, jobs, and had their lives derailed.
Jeffrey Epstein should have stood before you. In 2005. In 2009. And again in 2019. All the many times he was accused, charged, prosecuted.
He should have spared victims the years of chasing justice.
But today is ultimately not about Epstein. It is for me to be sentenced and for the victims to address me alone in court.
To you I say: I am sorry for the pain you experienced.
I hope my conviction along with my harsh incarceration brings you closure.
I hope this brings the women who have suffered some measure of peace and faintly to help you put those experiences of so many years ago in a place that allows you to look forward and not back.
I also acknowledge the pain this case has wrought to those I love, the many I held and still hold close, the relationships I have lost and will never be able to regain.
It is my sincerest wish to all those in this courtroom and all those outside this courtroom that today brings a terrible chapter to an end.
And to those of you who spoke here today and those who did not, may this day help you travel through darkness into the light.
Three were identified in court only by their first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, an ex-model from the UK; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction.
The fourth was Annie Farmer, the sole accuser to identify herself in court by her real name, after speaking out publicly.
Before Tuesday’s sentencing Maxwell, appearing in a blue prison uniform with shackles around her ankles, addressed the court and said she was ‘fooled’ by Epstein.
‘I realize I have been convicted of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to commit these crimes,’ she said. ‘My association with Epstein will permanently stain me. It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met him.’
She added that Epstein ‘fooled all of those in his orbit.’
Prosecutors had asked Judge Nathan to impose a sentence of at least 30 years because of Maxwell’s ‘utter lack of remorse,’ while Maxwell argued she should serve just four years as she is not a danger to the public.
The sentencing marks the end of a decades-long fight for justice by victims of Maxwell and Epstein.
