Which prison will Ghislaine Maxwell be sent to? Jeffrey Epstein's 'madame' to be sentenced
Ghislaine Maxwell is set to be sentenced later today for her sex trafficking conviction after she allegedly facilitated Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of teenage girls.
60-year-old Maxwell was convicted in December on five of six counts against her, including sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three related counts of conspiracy. She was only acquitted on one charge of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. Nonetheless, the British socialite will now be sentenced on three counts after Judge Alison Nathan agreed that two of the conspiracy counts she faced were repetitive.
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According to CNN, the US probation service has recommended a 20-year sentence, but prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence Maxwell to 30 to 55 years in prison, which is on par with federal guidelines. On the other hand, Maxwell's attorneys are seeking a more lenient sentence of between 4.25 and 5.25 years in prison, saying it would be a "travesty of justice" if their client faces a sentence more appropriate for Epstein himself.
Epstein was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 after he pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges in 2008. However, he died in prison under mysterious circumstances a month later. Maxwell has been remanded in Brooklyn's infamous Metropolitan Detention Center since her arrest in July 2020. Reports suggest that moving her to another facility is of utmost priority to her lawyers, who have argued that their client has been subjected to "discriminatory and punitive" treatment, including solitary confinement, "unjustified sleep deprivation" and "excessive" strip searches where Maxwell's "breasts and genitalia were touched in a rough and reckless manner," according to Sky News.
Where will Ghislaine Maxwell be jailed?
Maxwell's legal team has claimed she lost 20lbs (9kg) of weight and has suffered hair loss. The court has no jurisdiction over where she is incarcerated, and the decision rests solely on the bureau of Prisons, an organization that her lawyers have been publicly criticizing for months. Maxwell's team is expected to push for her to be transferred to a low-security women's prison in Danbury, Connecticut, which is the setting for the hit TV series 'Orange Is The New Black.'
Epstein's former girlfriend reportedly intends to appeal her conviction post-sentencing, which means her lawyers are significantly restricted in what arguments they can offer in mitigation. Considering, there will be no apology for her role in the sex trafficking of young women as she still maintains her innocence. Maxwell's legal team has reportedly avoided exploring her relationship with the billionaire pedophile Epstein in a 77-page submission to the court prior to sentencing. They have instead revisited arguments from the trial claiming that she "already had her life destroyed, been subjected to a media witch-hunt, and is being punished for Epstein's crimes," per Sky News, which described the petition as "a high-risk strategy" that "may backfire."
Her lawyers are also focusing on her troubled childhood, saying she was "anorexic while still a toddler" and was physically and emotionally abused by her father, deceased media mogul Robert Maxwell. Court documents stated that the patriarch would "explode, threaten and rant at" his children and use various forms of corporal punishment. The lawyers also recounted an alleged incident in which Robert Maxwell struck his daughter's hand with a hammer, leaving it "severely bruised and painful for weeks." It's worth noting that Ghislaine Maxwell has no prior criminal convictions. Her sentencing is expected to take place at 11:00 am Eastern Time (ET), Tuesday, June 28, in New York.