The brother of alleged child sex trafficker and abuser Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed her trial is a spectacle that has been ‘cobbled together’ to ‘break’ his sister.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Ian Maxwell – who has defended his sister before – complained that she was being held accountable for charges that would have been brought against Jeffrey Epstein had he not taken his own life in prison in 2019.
In his interview, Mr Maxwell complained that the case is “the most over-hyped trial of the century without a doubt. This is designed to break her; I can't see any other way to read it. And she will not be broken because she believes completely in her innocence and she is going to give the best account she can.”
Ms Maxwell has maintained her innocence since being arrested in New Hampshire in July 2020 after months on the run from federal authorities. During her time in prison, she, her defence team and her family have complained about supposed harsh treatment. According to the defendant herself, she has been given maggot-infested food, has been forced to sleep under a harsh fluorescent light in rat-infested room, and is subject to extremely intrusive surveillance from “creepy” guards who watched her shower and interrupted her sleep.
Alongside his other issues with the case, Mr Maxwell complained about the fact that his sister has been denied bail, a decision he called “wholly inappropriate”.
“Some very famous, infamous people were granted bail,” he said, “as most recently the killer of George Floyd, a murderer. John Gotti, another murderer, a mobster. Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Bernie Madoff. These are all men, of course, who got bail. Ghislaine is a woman who somehow doesn't get bail.”
Ms Maxwell has been denied bail several times. A (female) judge ruled last year that she should not be bailed because she poses a flight risk, writing last year that “no conditions of release can reasonably assure the Defendant’s appearance at future proceedings”.
As Mr Maxwell sees it, the trial is close to a sham. “This is not quite a put-up job,” he said, “but nonetheless has been cobbled together so that Ghislaine is made to face the charges that Epstein never faced.”
