Ghislaine Maxwell Isolated From General Population in Jail For 'Safety, Security'

Ghislaine Maxwell is in isolation while she awaits trial, according to a report by NBC News, and her attorneys are calling for her to move into the general population. Maxwell's lawyers say she is being held in "uniquely onerous" conditions, especially after she was denied bail. In a new court filing on Thursday, federal prosecutors reportedly claimed that Maxwell is being kept away from other prisoners for her safety.

Maxwell is in a New York City prison awaiting trial for charges of aiding and abetting Jeffrey Epstein with his alleged child sex trafficking operation. All eyes are on the prison, where Epstein died by alleged suicide last summer while under guard. However, Maxwell's lawyers say that she is not just being watched more closely than other prisoners but treated more harshly as well. They claim that the Bureau of Prisons is subjecting her to round-the-clock surveillance, frequent body scans and other special treatment.

The lawyers want to see Maxwell moved to a cell in the general population of Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. They also think she should be granted extended hours to review materials that prosecutors have assembled as evidence against her. Prosecutors disagree, saying that Maxwell is lying about her treatment.

"The defendant's argument that she is being treated 'worse' than other inmates is incorrect," Thursday's filing read. "For reasons including safety, security, and the orderly function of the facility," prosecutors said, Maxwell, cannot be integrated into the "dorm-style accommodations of the general population."

Prosecutors point out that the routine searches, scans and surveillance Maxwell is being subjected to are typical for all inmates, regardless of where they are held. They said that Maxwell "will be placed into the general population if and when BOP is assured that such placement would not pose a threat to the orderly operation of the institution."

As for the extended time to review materials for her case, prosecutors say that the bulk of the materials they have handed over to Maxwell's attorneys consist "principally of financial records." They point out that Maxwell's team has asked for the names of the first three accusers in her case, which they say is "premature, meritless, or both."

Maxwell's trial is scheduled for July of 2021. The socialite has requested various deals to get out of prison on bail, offering to stay in New York City with GPS monitoring. Prosecutors have firmly insisted that if she is released from custody, she will escape the country and flee to places where she could not be extradited.