Ghislaine Maxwell has asked to serve just four years and three months in prison if she is sentenced later this month – and claims she is facing death threats in prison.
Maxwell was scheduled to serve substantially less than the maximum sentence of 50 years at the June 28 hearing, her attorneys claimed in court documents released Wednesday
They said the increased penalty was “absurd” and that Maxwell did not pose a “containment threat to the public.”
The filing states that Maxwell’s “life was ruined,” and an inmate at her prison said the extra 20 years in prison would be worth it for the “money” they would get for murdering her.
It also revealed that her marriage to tech tycoon Scott Borgerson, 46, fell apart over the scandal and shame heaped on her after she was arrested for child sex abuse.
And the file contained a letter sent to the court by Maxwell’s brother Philip and his sister Anne. It said the abuse she suffered at the hands of her newspaper magnate father, Robert Maxwell, ultimately left her “vulnerable” and open to manipulation at the hands of her pedophile boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein.
The latest known picture of Ghislaine Maxwell released by her lawyers in 2021. They are now demanding that she be jailed for just four years for child sexual abuse
Maxwell’s lawyers say she was vulnerable when she was pushed into the arms of her pedophile boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein. The couple are pictured together at a charity event in NYC in 2005
Maxwell is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where her attorneys allege an inmate plotted to strangle the sex molester to death in his sleep for cash
The filing described the bloodthirsty threat allegedly made against the disgraced socialite: “Recently, an inmate in Ms. Maxwell’s unit threatened to kill her, claiming that another 20 years in prison would be worth the money , which she would receive for killing Ms. Maxwell Maxwell.
“To the best of my knowledge, one of the female inmates in Ms. Maxwell’s accommodation unit told at least three other inmates that she had been offered money to murder Ms. Maxwell and that she intended to strangle her in her sleep.
“The inmate who made the threat was transferred to SHU (special housing), presumably to protect Ms. Maxwell. This incident reflects the brutal reality that there are numerous inmates who would not hesitate to kill Ms. Maxwell – whether for money, fame or simply “street credit”.
Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December of recruiting and trafficking underage girls for the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Her sentencing was delayed while the court resolved questions about whether a juror unfairly influenced the jury by failing to disclose his history of sexual abuse.
A judge subsequently found that was not the case.
In her 77-page conviction and 29-page legal argument, Maxwell’s attorneys said she should not be made a “proxy” for Epstein.
Maxwell’s attorneys – and two of her siblings – say the abuse she suffered at the hands of her late father Robert (pictured at Cannes with Maxwell and his wife Elisabeth in 1990) left her “vulnerable” to a predator like Epstein
This sketch shows the moment Maxwell was convicted on four of the five counts she faces in December 2021. She will be sentenced on June 28
The financier hanged himself in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, and attention turned to Maxwell, who became his successor, the document said.
The filing states: “In sentencing Ms Maxwell, the court will not be swayed by this relentless drumbeat of public condemnation calling for her to be locked away forever.
“The court cannot heal the wounds inflicted by Epstein by laying upon Ms. Maxwell’s shoulders the pain of each of his victims, society’s outrage, public contempt for the community, and then evicting her from the community forever.
“While this may reassure the public and give the impression that ‘justice has been done’, that is not justice. This is scapegoat. Ms. Maxwell needs to be on record in court and not this outside pressure.
Arguing that Maxwell was treated far more harshly than any other suspect taken into custody prior to her trial, the filing claims her “life was ruined.”
It goes on to say: “Mrs. Maxwell cannot and should not bear the full penalty that Epstein should have been blamed for. Ms. Maxwell has already endured tough times while incarcerated in conditions far more onerous and punishing than a typical pre-trial inmate, and she is preparing to spend significantly more time behind bars.
“Your life is ruined. Since Epstein’s death, her life has been threatened and death threats continue while she is incarcerated.1 It would be a travesty of justice to face a sentence that was fitting for Epstein.
In an attempt to explain Maxwell’s background, her lawyers blamed her behavior on her late father, disgraced newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell, who died under mysterious circumstances after falling off his yacht in 1991.
A letter from Philip and Anne Maxwell said: “Your relationship with Epstein began in a moment of extreme vulnerability. Ghislaine’s life after the tragic death of our father. He (our father) was a powerful and dominant figure.
Maxwell’s most recent filing also recounted how her marriage to tech tycoon Scott Borgerson, pictured, collapsed following child molestation allegations
Maxwell with her siblings – two of whom have since moved to defend her and who continue to protest their innocence
“And as older siblings, we witnessed our father taking Ghislaine under his wing, making her overly dependent on his approval and vulnerable to his frequent rapid mood swings, big outbursts of anger and rejection.
“This made her very vulnerable to abusive and powerful men who would be able to take advantage of her innate good nature.”
The document said he would verbally abuse his children every Sunday.
Robert Maxwell “would explode, threaten and scold the children until they turned to pulp. Mr. Maxwell was relentless, with children in tears, punishments handed out and the whole family in utter distress,” the filing reads.
The document states: “Mr. Maxwell used corporal punishment on his children. Ghislaine vividly recalls a time when, aged 13, she pinned a poster of a pony to the newly painted wall of her bedroom. Instead of damaging the paint with tape, she carefully hammered a thin stick to attach the poster. This outraged her father, who took the hammer and struck Ghislaine’s dominant hand, leaving her badly injured and in pain for weeks.
The filing notes that Maxwell’s estranged husband, Scott Borgerson, “was besieged by media coverage and had lost his employment and professional connections.”
It stated: “Unfortunately, the marriage could not survive the ill effects of this case, nor the union of a man with his dishonored wife.”
Maxwell is pictured at an LGBT rights event in New York City in 2013. Her glittering world came crashing down in the summer of 2020 after she was arrested in New Hampshire on child molestation charges
Borgerson married Maxwell on Christmas Day 2016 — her 55th birthday — and dumped her during a heated phone conversation while she was in solitary confinement.
He’s since moved on and reportedly hooked up with a two-time yoga teacher named Kris McGinn earlier this year.
The 51 to 63-month sentence was reasonable because Maxwell has never been charged with a sex offense or felony in the nearly 20 years since the conduct at issue in this case ended, the suits say.
It said: “There is absolutely no evidence that Ms. Maxwell is attracted to minors or has the kind of uncontrollable impulses that would compel her to re-offend. According to the trial record, it was Epstein who had such inclinations, while Ms Maxwell’s role was to facilitate Epstein’s sexual abuse.
“Indeed, after moving away from Epstein in the early 2000s, Ms. Maxwell was involved in two long-term relationships with men who had young children and was actively involved in their lives without the slightest hint of impropriety. Most importantly, the government admits that Ms. Maxwell poses no threat to the community.
“The Government has never made this allegation in relation to Ms Maxwell’s numerous bail requests and there is no evidence whatsoever to support such an allegation. Simply put, Ms. Maxwell is not “dangerous” and there is no risk that Ms. Maxwell will ever “repeat” the offense.’