A judge ordered federal prosecutors to explain why prison staff perform nightly flashlight checks of Ghislaine Maxwell’s jail cell after attorneys for the associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein claimed the light was disrupting her sleep and injuring her health.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan ordered prosecutors Thursday to explain the basis for the checks or any other “atypical flashlight surveillance.”
“Is Ms. Maxwell being subjected to flashlight surveillance every 15 minutes at night? Or any other atypical flashlight surveillance?” Nathan asked prosecutors in an order. “If so, what is the basis for doing so?”
FIRST PHOTO OF GHISLAINE MAXWELL IN JAIL SHOWS BLACK EYE
In an antecedent court filing written by attorney Bobbi Sternheim, Maxwell’s legal team told Nathan that Maxwell “continues to be disrupted throughout the night by guards shining a flash/strobe light into her cell, claiming that her breathing must be checked.”
“We press our concerns regarding disruption of Ms. Maxwell’s sleep and the deleterious effect sleep deprivation is having on her health, well-being, and ability to prepare for and withstand trial,” Sternheim wrote.
The same filing included a photograph of Maxwell showing a bruise under her left eye. Maxwell did not know where the bruise came from but indicated it could be from her using a sock or towel to shield her eyes due to guards shining the light on her, Sternheim said.
Federal prosecutor Lara Pomerantz reportedly told the court the flashlight checks were “routine,” saying: “My understanding is that the accommodations that have been made for Ms. Maxwell are based on [the Bureau of Prisons’] assessment of the defendant and her security, and the security of the institution.”
Prosecutors must consult with prison officials about the flashlight checks and report back to the court by next week, ABC News reported.
In a separate order Thursday, Nathan responded to a court filing entered by Sternheim alleging that the Metropolitan Detention Center, where Maxwell is imprisoned, seized Maxwell’s legal materials on April 24.
Nathan required legal counsel for the Metropolitan Detention Center to tell Maxwell’s legal team what materials were taken and whether any of them were duplicated by Friday.
Maxwell’s criminal trial date is set for July 12, just over a year after she initially was arrested on July 2, 2020. Her original indictment charged her with conspiracy to entice minors, enticement of a minor, conspiracy to transport minors, transportation of a minor, and perjury.
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Sternheim asked Nathan on April 15 to delay Maxwell’s trial date by at least 90 days, requesting more time to develop a defense after federal prosecutors filed two sex-trafficking charges against Maxwell on March 29.
Between 2001 and 2004, one then-underage victim identified as “Minor Victim-4” gave Epstein multiple nude massages in which the two engaged in sexual acts, prosecutors alleged.
