Epstein’s associate moved to safer US prison

Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and convicted sex offender connected to the late financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, has been moved to a lower-security prison in Texas due to serious threats against her life.

Maxwell, 62, is serving a 20-year sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Her name became internationally known after her arrest in 2020, following years of allegations that she helped recruit and groom girls for Epstein’s sex trafficking network, which involved many powerful men, Caliber.Az reports via Daily Mail. 

According to The Mail, she was recently transferred from a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to a minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, after other inmates began threatening her. The threats reportedly escalated after she spoke with US authorities about over 100 men linked to Epstein, including high-profile figures such as Britain’s Prince Andrew, former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and several unnamed billionaires.

A source familiar with the case said: “As soon as Ghislaine spoke to the government she was considered a snitch by other inmates at Tallahassee. There were very real and very credible threats on her life... She had a target on her back.”

The source added that the Florida facility was understaffed and unable to guarantee her safety: “There were real fears inside Tallahassee that they could not guarantee her safety, which is why she was moved.”

Maxwell was driven for 16 hours to the Bryan prison in a two-car convoy. She was not handcuffed and stopped once in Louisiana for a toilet break.

Her new facility, Bryan Federal Prison Camp, is known for housing non-violent, white-collar female offenders. Unlike typical prisons, it has no perimeter fencing and allows inmates to walk freely across its 37-acre grounds. The prison offers yoga classes, a gym, and programs such as training guide dogs for the blind.

“There is a different class of people at Bryan so she is less likely to be attacked,” the source said. “It is a professionally run prison camp with a great warden, working cameras everywhere and properly trained staff. She is far safer there.”

Maxwell will now serve her sentence alongside other well-known inmates, including Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the failed blood-testing startup Theranos, and Jen Shah, a former US reality TV star convicted of fraud.

The move has sparked outrage among victims’ families. The family of Virginia Giuffre, who had accused Maxwell of recruiting her for Epstein’s abuse and who died by suicide in April, said in a statement: “Trump has sent a clear message today. Paedophiles deserve preferential treatment... Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life.”

Maxwell was scheduled to testify before the US Congress on August 11, but the appearance has been postponed while the US Supreme Court decides whether to review her appeal.

US President Donald Trump, whose administration had pledged to release secret files related to Epstein but failed to do so, said in an interview that he would now release them “as long as they don’t hurt anyone.”

When asked about the possibility of a pardon for Maxwell, he responded: “I’m allowed to give her a pardon but, right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.”

By Sabina Mammadli