Ghislaine Maxwell is accused of helping sex offender Jeffrey Epstein abuse girls as young as 14 for three years during the 1990s. File Photo by Rick Bajornas/EPA-EFE
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Ghislaine Maxwell, who's accused of helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls decades ago, has been isolated from the general population at a New York City jail as a safety precaution, officials said.
Maxwell, 58, pleaded not guilty last month to eight federal counts related to Epstein, including conspiracy, perjury, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sexual acts and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
She is accused of helping Epstein abuse girls as young as 14 for three years during the 1990s.
Authorities said this week Maxwell was isolated due to the nature of the charges.
"[The Bureau of Prisons] has made the determination that, at present, [she] should not be fully integrated into the dorm-style accommodations of the general population," prosecutors wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan.
Maxwell's attorneys had argued that she was being treated worse than other inmates, including body scans and 24-hour surveillance at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Friday, federal prosecutors asked a judge to deny Maxwell's request for the identities of her accusers, who say she recruited, groomed and abused them years ago when they were young girls.
Prosecutors said they have already given defense attorneys 165,000 pages of documents that include the months and years of birth for the three victims cited in the indictment. Defense attorneys argue that Maxwell has a right to know who her accusers are.
Prosecutors said the New York City prison is also allowing Maxwell 13 hours a day to access the documents. She'd previously had just three hours per day to do so, they noted.
