British socialite and accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is “withering” away while she is in jail due to what her attorney describes as harsh conditions.
“She is withering to a shell of her former self — losing weight, losing hair, and losing her ability to concentrate,” attorney Bobbi Sternheim wrote of Maxwell, according to CNBC. “It is impossible to overstate the deleterious effect of the conditions under which Ms. Maxwell is detained.”
Maxwell is being held in connection to charges she is facing for perjury and allegedly recruiting underage girls for Jeffery Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender who killed himself while in prison.
Her lawyer described her situation as “over-management,” referring to constant surveillance by Brooklyn federal jail guards in an effort to keep her from killing herself, CNBC reported.
Sternheim also said Maxwell had been abused during a search.
“Maxwell continues to be at the mercy of a revolving group of security officers who are used to guarding hundreds of inmates but now focus their undivided attention exclusively on one respectful, middle-aged female pretrial detainee,” Sternheim wrote. “Recently, out of view of the security camera, Ms. Maxwell was placed in her isolation cell and physically abused during a pat down search. When she asked that the camera be used to capture the occurrence, a guard replied ‘no.’ ”
Maxwell was previously denied bail by District Judge Alison Nathan after being deemed a flight risk. Her request to be moved to the general population within the Brooklyn jail was also denied in August of last year.
She has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting her court trial, which is scheduled for July of this year.