‘Luxury prison': Epstein accomplice Maxwell quietly moved to low-security camp
The family of Virginia Giuffre – the American-Australian woman who was among Epstein's most well-known sex-trafficking accusers – said in a statement that Maxwell's transfer reflected 'the justice system failing victims right before our eyes'.
Giuffre died by suicide on April 25 this year at her farm in Neergabby, north of Perth, aged 41.
'It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received,' her family said in a statement – reported by The Washington Post – that was also signed by other women who said they were victims of Epstein and Maxwell.
'Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum-security luxury prison in Texas.'
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The prison camp is about 150 kilometres north-west of Houston on about 15 hectares of land. It held about 650 women, AP reported in 2023.
According to a 2016 FPC Bryan inmate handbook, those eligible to work could earn up to $US1.15 ($1.78) an hour in their job assignments, which include food service roles and factory employment operated by Federal Prison Industries.
There, Maxwell will be surrounded by women serving shorter sentences and considered less likely to be violent or have gang affiliations.
Camp inmates are assigned to dormitory-style housing and have considerable freedom to move around within the facility, according to Paperny, who said he had advised Shah.
Giuffre, who had accused Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, has been a central figure in conspiracy theories tied to the case. Andrew has always denied those claims; the two reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022, and he was stripped of royal duties.
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Earlier this week, her family had expressed shock at hearing US President Donald Trump say that Epstein 'stole' Giuffre and other young women from the spa at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida – and urged that Maxwell remain in prison.
'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago,' the family's earlier statement said.
'We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this.'
Prosecutors have said Epstein's sex crimes could not have been done without Maxwell, but her lawyers have maintained that she was wrongly prosecuted and denied a fair trial, and have floated the idea of a presidential pardon. They have also asked the US Supreme Court to take up her case.
Trump said on Friday night Washington time (Saturday AEST) that no one had asked him about clemency for Maxwell.
'I'm allowed to do it but nobody's asked me to do it,' he told Newsmax in an interview. 'I know nothing about it. I don't know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it. I have the right to give pardons, I've given pardons to people before, but nobody's even asked me to do it.'
Maxwell's case has been the subject of heightened public focus since an outcry over the Justice Department's statement last month saying that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex-trafficking investigation.
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The decision infuriated online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump's base who had hoped to see proof of a government cover-up.
Since then, administration officials have tried to cast themselves as promoting transparency in the case, including by requesting from courts the unsealing of grand jury transcripts.
Maxwell was interviewed at a Florida courthouse over two days last week by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The House Oversight Committee had also said that it wanted to speak with her.
Maxwell's lawyers have said they would be open to an interview, but only if the panel were to ensure immunity from prosecution.
In a letter on Friday to Maxwell's lawyers, Representative James Comer, the committee chair, wrote that the committee was willing to delay the deposition until after the resolution of Maxwell's appeal to the Supreme Court. That appeal is expected to be resolved in late September.
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Comer wrote that while Maxwell's testimony was 'vital' to the Republican-led investigation into Epstein, the committee would not provide immunity or any questions in advance.
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