The family of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is afraid for her safety in prison after another associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein was found dead, hanging in his French prison cell Saturday while awaiting trial.
The New York Post reported Saturday that Maxwell’s brother Ian Maxwell said the family now “fears for her safety” after model agent Jean-Luc Brunel was found hanging in his Paris prison cell early Saturday.
“It’s really shocking,” Ian Maxwell told The Post. “Another death by hanging in a high-security prison. My reaction is one of total shock and bewilderment.”
Maxwell was convicted Dec. 29 for her role as a partner in the sex trafficking ring of the late Jeffrey Epstein and is currently jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, the Post reported.
Epstein committed suicide in a New York City prison cell despite being on a suicide watch Aug. 10, 2019, CBS News reported at the time.
Epstein was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges for forcing underage girls to have sex with friends and clients that may have included famous people like Prince Andrew, among several others.
Brunel, according to the New York Times, was charged with raping underage girls himself as well as scouting for potential victims that Epstein could use in his ring.
“His decision was not guided by guilt but by a deep sense of injustice,” his lawyers said in a statement to the Times, adding that Mr. Brunel had “never stopped claiming his innocence.”
The Post reports that Maxwell is in a cell with a psychiatrist and constantly being surveilled with video as she seeks a new trial to overturn her conviction.
In an earlier article, the Post reported that she was seeking a new trial because one of the jurors revealed in media interviews that he was a victim of sexual abuse as a child.
“Despite the psychiatrist advising to the contrary, she was deemed a suicide risk and they are continuing to wake her up every 15 minutes in the night,” Ian Maxwell told the Post. “It’s a complete violation of prisoner rights and human rights.”
According to the Post, it was Maxwell who introduced Brunel to Epstein, a convicted pedophile.
Brunel was part of a French inquiry into crimes committed in that country that were part of Epstein’s sex trafficking activities.
Britain’s Prince Andrew reached an out of court settlement with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who was part of the Epstein ring, and alleges that the royal had sex with her on three occasions when she was just 17, CBS news reported Tuesday.
"Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others," CBS News reported a court filing in the case read. "He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims."
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