Prosecutors hit back at Ghislaine Maxwell's claims of being mistreated in jail, saying she keeps her cell 'very dirty' and doesn't flush her toilet

• Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers recently complained about "horrific conditions" at her Brooklyn jail.
• Prosecutors on Tuesday refuted the claim that Maxwell "is withering to a shell of her former self."
• They added that Maxwell doesn't clean her cell or flush her toilet.

Prosecutors responded to Ghislaine Maxwell's complaints of mistreatment in jail with a long letter on Tuesday, countering her claims and accusing her of not keeping her cell clean.

The British socialite is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, on charges connected to her former associate, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell in Manhattan while awaiting his own trial in August 2019.

In an attempt to get Maxwell released on bail as she awaits trial, which is scheduled to start in July, her lawyers recently complained about "horrific conditions" in the jail.

They said Maxwell was "being kept awake all night to make sure she does not commit suicide" and is "stuck in de facto" solitary confinement due to COVID-19 safety measures.

Maxwell's lawyers also complained about their client not getting enough food and said the food she does receive is not being heated properly, "rendering the food inedible."

"The overall conditions of detention have had a detrimental impact on Ms. Maxwell's health and overall well-being; and she is withering to a shell of her former self - losing weight, losing hair, and losing her ability to concentrate," the attorney Bobbi C. Sternheim wrote in a letter to the court on February 16.

On Tuesday, prosecutors responded to the complaints in a letter of their own, addressing each complaint, according to court documents viewed by Insider.

They said Maxwell is allowed out of her cell every day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and has the option to go outside for exercise. They added that even with COVID-19 precautions, Maxwell has been able to meet with her lawyers in person, though they've decided to do only video meetings.

As to Maxwell's assertion that she's not getting sleep, prosecutors said guards are required to check on her every 15 minutes during the night, but she wears a sleeping mask and note that she "regularly sleeps through these nighttime wellness checks."

Prosecutors said that Maxwell has been assessed as "physically healthy" and has maintained a normal weight throughout her stay at the detention center.

They said her weight has fluctuated between the 130s and 140s. She recorded her lowest weight, 133 pounds, in July 2020, which is considered a normal BMI. Her weight last week was 137.5 pounds, they added. (According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Maxwell would have to weigh less than 118 pounds to be considered clinically underweight.)

Jail staff have also "not observed the defendant experience any noticeable hair loss."

Furthermore, the prosecutors suggested that Maxwell has herself to blame for some of the conditions she's living in.

In a footnote, they detailed how staff had asked her to clean her cell at one point when it became "very dirty."

"Among other things, MDC staff noted that the defendant frequently did not flush her toilet after using it, which caused the cell to smell," the letter reads.

Prosecutors have been continuing to build their case against Maxwell, who has been accused of grooming girls for Epstein between 1994 and 2004. She's also been accused of abusing one of the girls.

Last month, prosecutors filed additional charges against Maxwell based on the allegations of a fourth accuser who was a minor at the time of the alleged abuse.

Maxwell has remained in jail over fears she would be a flight risk in part due to her British and French citizenship, which she has offered to give up.