Ian Maxwell says his sister, disgraced socialite Ghislaine, is spending her time in jail teaching fellow inmates how to appeal against their charges.
The 62-year-old was found guilty in December 2021 of luring young girls to massage rooms for paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest between 1994 and 2004.
But she is now the subject of a new appeal by lawyers to be freed with claims she “should never have been prosecuted” due to a “weird” agreement drafted more than 15 years ago.
Her brother joined Tom Harwood and Emily Carver on GB News to discuss his sister’s legal travails and what she is doing behind bars.
Ian Maxwell says his sister has a plausible case
GETTY / GB NEWS
“I spoke to her yesterday morning. I found her in really decent shape”, he said.
“The thing I found interesting about what she said about what she is doing with her time, she is in fact teaching inmates, perhaps 20 at a time, once a week, how to appeal.
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“Or how to appeal internally against the conditions in prison.”
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the federal court in the southern district of New York in June 2022.
Her legal team have previously submitted written arguments which claimed her victims had “faded, distorted and motivated memories”.
During her three-week trial, jurors heard prosecutors describe Maxwell as “dangerous”, and were told details of how she helped entice vulnerable teenagers to Epstein’s various properties for him to sexually abuse.
Ian Maxwell joined Tom Harwood and Emily Carver on GB News
GB NEWS
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine MaxwellGETTYBut her legal team have previously submitted that she did not have a fair trial after it emerged one of the jurors, Scotty David, failed to disclose he had been sexually abused in his pre-trial questionnaire.
Ian Maxwell said her sister is “hopeful” but “realistic” about the prospect of being freed.
“I found her looking OK”, he said.
“She was hopeful, obviously, but also realistic. She has lost a trial, many bail applications.
“This is not some pie in the sky hope. This is a serious appeal she has mounted.”
Maxwell was convicted of five offences, including sex trafficking minors, conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, and conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
She has been incarcerated since July 2020, despite attempts from her defence counsel to have her released on bail.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
The death was ruled a suicide.
