Ghislaine Maxwell Placed On Suicide Watch Before Sentencing

Ghislaine Maxwell has been placed on suicide watch just days before her sentencing, her lawyer has said.

The 60-year-old was found guilty on five of the six counts she had been charged with after recruiting and trafficking teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.

The only count she wasn't convicted on was 'Enticement of an Individual Under the Age of 17 (Jane only) to Travel with Intent to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity'.

The jury instead convicted her of conspiracy to entice and transport individuals under 17 with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, as well as sex trafficking of individuals under the age of 17 and 18.

Prosecutors have requested she spend a minimum of 30 years in prison while her sentencing is set to take place on 28 June.

Alamy

Maxwell's attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, has now said in a court filing on Saturday (25 June) that her client has been placed on suicide watch.

Sternheim wrote to the judge that her client was 'unable to properly prepare, for sentencing'.

Maxwell is currently being kept at the Metropolitan Detention Center, in Brooklyn, after being placed there on Friday (24 June), her lawyer says.

"If Ms. Maxwell remains on suicide watch, is prohibited from reviewing legal materials prior to sentencing, becomes sleep deprived, and is denied sufficient time to meet with and confer with counsel, we will be formally moving on Monday for an adjournment," Sternheim wrote.

Although, her attorney also claimed Maxwell is 'not suicidal'.

Alleged victim, Virginia Giuffre, said Maxwell 'opened the door to hell' as she joked that she was like a new mother to dozens of girls and young women she fed to her financier boyfriend and later boss. 

“Ghislaine, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you used your femininity to betray us, and you led us all through it.”

Alamy

She added: “You could have put an end to the rapes, the molestations, the sickening manipulations that you arranged, witnessed and even took part in. You could’ve called the authorities and reported that you were a part of something awful. … Ghislaine, you deserve to spend the rest of your life in a jail cell.

“You deserve to be trapped in a cage forever, just like you trapped your victims.”

Prosecutor Alison Moe said in her closing argument that Maxwell was Epstein's 'partner in crime', and that she helped him abuse underage girls as a means to maintain her opulent lifestyle. 

"Epstein could not have done this alone," Moe said. 

"When that man is accompanied by a posh, smiling, respectable, age-appropriate woman, that's when everything starts to seem legitimate.

"And when that woman... acts like it's totally normal for that man to touch those girls, it lures them into a trap."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org