Ghislaine Maxwell to face child sex traff ic victims in court at sentencing
‘Ghislaine is sleeping with one eye open’
SOME of Ghislaine Maxwell’s victims will be in court this week to watch when she faces a 55-year sentence for child sex trafficking – as it emerged there is a $1million prison bounty on her head.
Several of the women, who were teenagers when Maxwell lured them into the clutches of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, have written victim impact statements to be read out at the sentencing hearing.
But at least two are expected to be in the New York courtroom on Tuesday as the British former socialite faces decades in jail.
Maxwell, 60, is currently being held in the general population area of New York’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center, where an inmate recently threatened to kill her. A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘One woman was going around openly bragging that she was going to murder Ghislaine for $1million.
‘There are violent felons in there who would do it just for the notoriety of killing a high-profile prisoner, but others believe they will receive money if they kill her. They have been told there is a bounty on her head.
‘Three prisoners reported the threats and the woman who was making the threats has been moved away into a special unit.
‘Ghislaine is sleeping with one eye open.’
Maxwell was found guilty in December of five federal sex-trafficking charges relating to her role in recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, who took his own life while in prison in 2019.
‘The Bureau of Prisons could not keep Epstein safe. They are badly understaffed. Ghislaine is in a unit with 40 other women, many from violent gangs. She is constantly looking over her shoulder,’ the source said.
While Maxwell could be jailed for up to 55 years, it is believed she is hoping to receive a sentence of less than 15 years because it would allow her to serve her time in a lower-security prison.
‘Anything above 15 years means a federal maximum security prison and, because of her age, will be effectively a life sentence,’ the source said.
Whatever the sentence handed down, Maxwell’s legal team will immediately file an appeal. Although she is entitled to make a one-minute speech in court, sources think it unlikely that she’ll do so as any comment could be used against her later.
Despite threats to her life, Maxwell – who was on suicide watch in solitary confinement for 22 months – has been offering inmates classes in spoken English, English literature and yoga.
‘Most of the women are Spanishspeaking and she speaks fluent Spanish,’ the source said. ‘She enjoys teaching and it keeps her busy and productive.’
In pre-sentencing court documents filed last week, prosecutors condemned her ‘utter lack of remorse’ and urged the judge to impose a sentence of between 30 and 55 years. However, despite revulsion at the nature of her crimes, sources say some fellow inmates have warmed to the Oxbridge-educated daughter of multi-millionaire media tycoon Robert Maxwell.
‘While there are elements who want to kill her, and she is an obvious target, she has also made friends – people who look out for her,’ one source said.
‘She has been helping multiple women with spoken English and English literature. She is helping them study for their high school diploma. She has been teaching yoga and wellness classes. They have realised she’s not the monster she has been made out to be.
‘One of the prisoners came up to her and said she’d expected her to be stuck up, to be a bitch, and that she was surprised she was so normal.
‘While she is in prison she intends to use her time wisely and do everything she can to help other women in there. Teaching helps her maintain her sanity.’
Maxwell already speaks fluent French, Italian and Spanish, but is now teaching herself another language using a series of CDs. She is learning Russian. She wants to keep her mind active. Teaching other prisoners helps her keep her mind focused,’ the source added.
Maxwell will apply to serve out her prison term in the UK to be closer to her family in Oxfordshire, but she will not be eligible for such a move until she has spent at least three years in a US jail.
‘Ghislaine has maintained her innocence from the start,’ the source said. ‘Whatever happens on Tuesday she will continue to maintain her innocence to the end.’
‘Anything above 15 years will be a life sentence’