- Lawyers for
Ghislaine Maxwell , who is in jail awaiting trial on charges of sex-trafficking girls as young as 14 for her former boyfriendJeffrey Epstein , want her released from solitary confinement. - In court papers seen by Insider, Maxwell's lawyers say she is being held under "uniquely onerous" conditions in "reaction to the circumstances surrounding the pretrial detention and death of Mr. Epstein."
- Maxwell's legal team want her moved into the general population at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, and they want her to have access to a computer so she can work on her defense.
Ghislaine Maxwell is asking to be taken out of solitary confinement as she awaits trial on charges of sex-trafficking girls as young as 14 for her former boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein.
According to court papers seen by Insider and initially flagged by Courthouse News reporter Adam Klasfeld, Maxwell's criminal defense counsel say she's being held under "uniquely onerous" conditions in "reaction to the circumstances surrounding the pretrial detention and death of Mr. Epstein."
Epstein died by apparent suicide while facing sex-trafficking charges last year. Maxwell was recently taken off suicide watch at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, but her lawyers say she is being treated "worse than other similarly situated pretrial detainees."
Her lawyers say that Maxwell has been under surveillance 24 hours a day, forced to wear special clothing, undergo numerous body scans, and is woken up every few hours by prison guards.
Maxwell's legal team asked for Maxwell to be moved to general population at the detention facility, where they believe she will be able to better prepare for trial. They also asked for Maxwell to have access to a computer.
"Ms. Maxwell does not seek special treatment at the MDC; but she does ask that she not be specially disfavored in her treatment in detention, especially when it comes to preparing her defense to conduct that allegedly took place over 25 years ago," her lawyers said. "In light of the voluminous discovery that we expect to receive, Ms. Maxwell would normally be spending 40 hours a week or more reviewing the discovery. Ms. Maxwell should be granted a comparable amount of time to review the discovery in the MDC so that she can engage in her defense full-time."
Also in the court filing, Maxwell's lawyers asked for the names the victims the government accused her of helping Epstein sexually abuse.
Maxwell was arrested in July, and is accused of helping Epstein recruit, groom, and sexually abuse minors. She's being held without bail.
- Read more:
- Alan Dershowitz calls Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre a 'serial liar' while once again denying he ever had sex with her
- Newly unveiled emails between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell shows how the 2 worked together to discredit his accusers
- Read Virginia Giuffre's unsealed deposition where she accuses Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell of sex-trafficking her
- Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney wants a gag order so prosecutors will stop saying bad things about the accused sex trafficker