New York Daily News

Ghislaine loses bid for move at jail

- BY STEPHEN REX BROWN

A judge rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s request that she be transferre­d to the general population of a Brooklyn federal jail, ruling on Tuesday that the accused madam for Jeffrey Epstein was justifiabl­y under special surveillan­ce.

Maxwell, 58, had said earlier this month that she’s monitored around the clock by staff at the Metropolit­an Detention Center on the Sunset Park waterfront and subjected to “uniquely onerous conditions.” She had asked Manhattan Federal Judge Alison Nathan to order the Bureau of Prisons to remove her from isolation.

But the judge wrote she would not second-guess jail officials.

“The Court credits BOP’s duty to ensure the safety and security of the Defendant as justifying the measures BOP has adopted,” Nathan wrote.

“The Defendant has provided the Court with no evidence, and no reason to believe, that the surveillan­ce measures are motivated by improper purposes.”

The feds previously said that Maxwell (inset) was held separately from other inmates for the “safety, security, and the orderly functionin­g of the facility.”

Nathan also rejected a request from Maxwell’s defense team to order the government to reveal the names of victims in her case.

Maxwell’s lawyers said they were at an unfair disadvanta­ge because the feds have not yet disclosed the identities of the British socialite’s three alleged underage victims in the mid-1990s.

Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to grooming girls for Epstein’s sexual abuse. She’s also accused of lying under oath.

The Daily News previously reported that Maxwell is held alone on a floor of MDC, separated from other female inmates. Sources said she’s routinely moved to different cells to prevent her from stashing contraband. She reportedly has been outfitted with paper clothes to reduce the risk of suicide.

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