Jeffrey Epstein’s consort Ghislaine Maxwell held in ‘troubled’ New York jail, plagued by coronavirus concerns

Socialite arrived at the federal Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) in Brooklyn on Monday

Prosecutors accused Maxwell of luring underage girls so that Jeffrey Epstein could sexually abuse them

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Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured in 2013, has denied wrongdoing and called claims against her ‘absolute rubbish’. File photo: AFP

Published: 11:36am, 7 Jul 2020Updated: 9:09pm, 7 Jul 2020

Jeffrey Epstein’s long-time confidante Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred Monday to a New York City jail plagued by coronavirus concerns and other problems as she faces charges that she recruited girls, one as young as 14, for him to sexually abuse.

Maxwell, 58, was moved to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn as prosecutors sought to schedule a court appearance for her this week in Manhattan federal court, the Bureau of Prisons said. She had been locked up at a New Hampshire jail since authorities arrested her last week at a US$1 million estate she purchased there.

Maxwell, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, was the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein, who killed himself at a federal jail in Manhattan last August while he awaited trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

“Somebody made the conscious decision, ‘let’s not house her where Epstein was housed’,” said Jack Donson, a former prison official who worked for the Bureau of Prisons for more than two decades.

Maxwell has been indicted on multiple charges, including that she conspired to entice girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts with Epstein from 1994 through 1997.

Several Epstein victims have described Maxwell as his chief enabler, recruiting and grooming young girls for abuse. She has denied wrongdoing and called claims against her “absolute rubbish”.

The Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) where Ghislaine Maxwell is being detained. Photo: Reuters

Late Monday, a judge said Maxwell could appear at her arraignment and bail hearing by video because of the pandemic, but those scheduling limitations require it be held Thursday or next week- not Friday as her lawyer requested.