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Court drawing of Ghislaine Maxwell at the New York trial
Photo: JANE ROSENBERG / REUTERS
The longtime confidant of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, appears to be seeking a delay in the delivery of her sentence.
According to her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim, she was put under increased surveillance in prison because of the alleged risk of suicide.
Sternheim is now considering requesting a postponement of the court date on Monday.
The prison had not previously ordered a psychological examination and did not justify the measure, said Sternheim.
On Saturday, a psychologist examined the 60-year-old and "found that she was not suicidal."
However, the Reuters news agency reported on Sunday, citing prosecutors, that the special observation was made because Maxwell had stated that the staff at the Brooklyn detention center threatened her safety.
However, Maxwell did not provide any further details.
Prosecutors said there was no need to delay the sentencing because Maxwell has access to all of her documents and is getting enough sleep.
Maxwell's defense attorneys see it differently.
Maxwell has been in solitary confinement again since Friday, attorney Sternheim wrote in a letter to Judge Alison Nathan.
The prison also denied her access to court documents and time to meet with her lawyers.
Therefore, his client could not prepare for the pronouncement of the sentence.
If Maxwell remains in solitary confinement and continues to be under increased surveillance, Sternheim says he wants to apply on Monday to postpone the sentence.
Maxwell has been in prison for two years
The 60-year-old has been in prison for two years.
Last December, a New York jury found the British woman guilty of child sex trafficking.
Her sentence is expected to be announced on Tuesday.
The public prosecutor's office recently demanded 30 years in prison, Maxwell himself pleaded for "significantly less" than 20 years in prison.
After Jeffrey Epstein's alleged suicide in a prison cell in 2019, the US judiciary had promised to hold his accomplices accountable.
Maxwell was eventually found guilty of years of recruiting young girls to be sexually abused by the well-connected financial investor, who was also accused of placing girls with other men.
The daughter of the late British media mogul Robert Maxwell is said to have acted in a highly perfidious manner.
According to the indictment, she befriended young girls, the youngest of whom was only 14, took them to the movies or went shopping and then handed them over to the multi-millionaire.
Maxwell persuaded the teens to travel to Epstein's homes in New York, Florida and New Mexico and massage the multi-millionaire naked before they were abused.
Maxwell was a "sophisticated sex offender who knew exactly what she was doing," prosecutor Alison Moe said in her closing argument in December.
Maxwell was "the key" in the Epstein system.
According to prosecutors, Maxwell was handsomely rewarded for this: Between 1999 and 2007, Epstein transferred $30 million to her.
Maxwell has denied all allegations.
Her defense argued that Maxwell had to be used as a "scapegoat" because Epstein could not be tried after his death.
After the guilty verdict, the defense called for a new trial because of a jury's abuse experiences that only became known afterwards.
The application was rejected in early April.
fek/AFP/Reuters
