A New York City federal appeals court denied a fourth bail request from Ghislaine Maxwell on Tuesday as she continues to fight sex trafficking charges in connection with allegedly grooming young girls for sexual abuse by deceased multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
In a one-paragraph decision, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the renewed request. The ruling followed a 20-minute hearing on Monday in which Maxwell’s lawyer argued that she was being deprived of sleep while incarcerated due to wellness checks by corrections officers.
“During oral argument, counsel for Appellant expressed concern that Appellant was improperly being deprived of sleep while incarcerated,” the ruling said. “To the extent Appellant seeks relief specific to her sleeping conditions, such request should be addressed to the District Court.”
GHISLAINE MAXWELL TO FACE 2 SEPARATE MANHATTAN CRIMINAL TRIALS
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, far right, appears in Manhattan Federal court seated next to her attorney Bobbi C. Sternheim, second from left, along with her sister Isabel Maxwell, far left, during her arraignment on a superseding indictment last week.
(AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)
Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, told Fox News he was “heartbroken” about the decision.
“If our system tolerates detaining a 59-year old woman with no criminal history and subjecting her to tortuous conditions, simply because of her old connection to Jeffrey Epstein, we should all be deeply troubled,” he said.
Maxwell, 59, a British socialite, has been in federal custody since last year. She is charged with lying under oath and recruiting, grooming and trafficking girls to be sexually abused by Epstein from the 1990s through 2004.
In his argument, Markus said Maxwell is woken up by flashlights every 15 minutes during checks inside Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, which prevents her from preparing for trial.
Activists protesting Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell stand in front of a federal court in New York City. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)
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The court took issue with jail staff shining lights into Maxwell’s cell overnight but decided the matter should be addressed by federal Judge Alison Nathan, who is overseeing Maxwell’s criminal case.
Maxwell faces multiple charges and has pleaded not guilty. Her trial is slated to begin in July. Nathan said she is considering a delay but has not made a final decision.