The character Baretta’s catchphrase, ” don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” Comes to mind when thinking about Ghislaine Maxwell’s situation. Maxwell is likely not enjoying her current predicament. She is currently facing multiple serious charges and could be facing a life sentence. The 59-year-old companion and business partner of deceased Jeffery Epstein helped supply him with young girls for grooming purposes. She is currently being held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. Maxwell is fighting against sex trafficking charges. If found guilty, Maxwell could be facing a maximum of 80 years in prison. Her legal team recently requested a motion to allow Maxwell greater access to her personal laptop. The increased technology access would allow Maxwell to view legal documents concerning the case in a timely manner.
Bobbi Sternheim, Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney, is fighting to expand access to her personal laptop. Sternheim has previously represented clients facing the death penalty. He listed multiple complaints about the center’s computers and his client’s treatment by the center’s staff. Since being placed in the detention center, Maxwell has faced multiple occurrences of mental and physical abuse. Any complaints placed by Maxwell are met with retaliation from the center’s staff. The Metropolitan Detention center is equipped with underpowered computers. Sternheim issued a statement saying the simple task of uploading a video could take up to half an hour at the detention center, and during this time no other task can be completed. Hard drives from the center are of questionable integrity, most have been dropped and have a tendency to shut off randomly. Sternheim states that frustration caused by these technical issues are excessive and should be corrected.
Ghislaine Maxwell has been facing sex trafficking charges since July 2020. Maxwell has been accused of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to discover and abuse young girls. She has not been released on bail because of the high possibility she may flee. Maxwell’s attorneys will be defending her against accusations of abuse between 1994 – 1997. During this time period, Maxwell supposedly lured 3 young girls into Epstein’s vicinity using deceptive techniques. The youngest of these girls was only fourteen. Along with these accusations, Maxwell is also accused of participating in the physical and mental abuse of these same young girls. Despite the serious charges Maxwell and her attorney are fighting, they continue to fight to gain her more freedom. Bobbi Sternheim issued a statement saying, ” other than calls with family or communication with counsel, Ms.Maxwell has no human contact except with guards who wield power over her, over-manage her, and have psychologically and physically abused her. Complaints regarding mistreatment by guards have led to reprisals against Ms.Maxwell.” The bleak picture that Maxwell’s attorney paints may force the court to consider approving the requested motion.