'My sister is not a monster': Ghislaine Maxwell's brother says heiress is innocent as she faces trial accused of abusing and procuring young girls for billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
Ghislaine Maxwell's brother has today insisted his sister is innocent and that she has been wrongly painted as a 'monster' because the anger towards her ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein has now been transferred to her.
Ian Maxwell says he 'bets' his sister 'regrets' her relationship with the pedophile financier, who was found dead in his prison cell while awaiting a sex trafficking trial.
The socialite and heiress, 59, is now facing her own US trial, accused of abusing and procuring young girls for Epstein.
Maxwell, who for the first time spoke from her New York cell in a world exclusive interview published in the Mail on Sunday, faces a maximum of 80 years in prison if she is found guilty.
But her businessman brother, who like his sister is the child of the late disgraced newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, today insisted that she is innocent.
He said he also believed the anger towards Epstein had been re-directed to his sister in the wake of the financier's death.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain's political editor Ranvir Singh in an exclusive interview today, on the day jury selection is set to begin in his sister's US trial, he said: 'I bet she wished she never met Epstein - that's for sure.
Ghislaine Maxwell's brother has today insisted his sister is innocent and that she has been wrongly painted as a 'monster' because her sex offender ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein is no longer alive. Pictured right: Maxwell in 2010 and, left, Maxwell while in prison
Today Maxwell's businessman brother Ian (pictured), who like his sister is the child of the late disgraced newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, launched an ardent defence of his sibling, insisting that she is innocent
Ian Maxwell says he 'bets' his sister 'regrets' her relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein (pictured) who was found dead in his prison cell while awaiting a sex trafficking trial
Prince Andrew, Duke of York is seen driving near Windsor Castle in Berkshire. Later today jury selection is due to start in the trial of Maxwell
'I think she must regret that relationship. It's crucial that that jury is impartial because the weight of media writing and documentaries and podcasts have painted my sister as a monster today.
'She's a cardboard, two, 3D monster and this is not the girl that I know.'
Asked what made him so sure Maxwell was innocent, she said: 'I know my sister and her core very well, you cannot change the core of who you are so late in your life.'
Mr Maxwell also addressed the allegations made by Virginia Giuffre - now known by her married name of Roberts - who claims Maxwell and Epstein recruited and then trafficked her when she was 17.
Ms Roberts alleges she was 'sex trafficked' to Prince Andrew three times, including once in London - claims the Duke of York strenuously denies.
Ms Roberts is suing the Prince in a separate civil case, which the royal is planning to contest.
While in London a photograph was taken appearing to show Prince Andrew with his hand around a young Ms Roberts while standing next to Maxwell.
Ms Roberts claims she was allegedly 'sex trafficked' to Prince Andrew three times, including once in London - claims the Duke of York strenuously denies. While in London a photograph appearing to show Prince Andrew with his hand around a young Ms Roberts while standing next to Maxwell was taken (pictured)
Ms Maxwell, who faces the rest of her life behind bars if convicted of abusing and procuring young girls for billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein (above, with Ghislaine in 2005) – charges that she vehemently denies – claims that a 'friendly rat' routinely sat next to her on an open sewer as she went to the toilet
At 59, the Ghislaine of today is a far cry from the glamorous woman who was once a fixture on the international social scene, where she mingled with world leaders such as Bill and Hillary Clinton and was close friends with royalty, including Prince Andrew. Today, the designer outfits have been replaced by the shapeless overalls of prisoner 02879-509. (Above, Ghislaine with Epstein and Bill Clinton in 1993)
However, Mr Maxwell today appeared to dismiss the photograph, saying it has 'never been authenticated'.
'That photograph's never been stood up, he told Good Morning Britain.
He said: 'It's never been authenticated. All I can say is that no authentication of that photograph has ever occurred. What's not happening is any kind of allowance for the presumption of innocence.'
Asked about Ms Roberts' allegations, he said: 'I think that's exactly what they are. Allegations.'
Speaking after the interview, Ms Singh told viewers that Mr Maxwell had told her that his sister had been 'swept up' in the anger towards Epstein.
She said: 'I spoke to him [Ian] for about an hour and a half and he got very emotional. He broke down and started crying at one point.
'He says Ghislaine has been swept up in two things - one, the Me Too movement, that there is an enormous desire to convict when conviction rates are appallingly low, women just don't speak about what's happened to them.
'Secondly, as Epstein is dead, all the anger that should have been to him is now on her.'
It comes as Maxwell spoke out for the first time about her 'living hell' behind bars – claiming that she has been assaulted and abused by prison guards, purposely deprived of sleep and given rotting food to eat.
In a world exclusive, published in the Mail on Sunday, Maxwell, who had her £21 million bail application denied for the fourth time last week, also claims negative media coverage while she has been in custody and the deliberate withholding of evidence have made it 'impossible' for her to receive a fair trial.
Speaking from her 10ft by 12ft prison cell inside New York's notorious Metropolitan Detention Center, where she has spent the past 16 months in solitary confinement, Ms Maxwell said: 'I have been assaulted and abused for almost a year and a half.
'I have not had a nutritious meal in all that time. I haven't slept without lights on – fluorescent lights that have damaged my eyes – or been allowed to sleep without constant interruptions.
'I am weak, I am frail. I have no stamina. I am tired. I don't even have shoes which fit properly. They feed me rotten food. One apple had maggots in it. I have not been allowed to exercise.'
Maxwell said in the interview her life had been a living hell ever since more than 20 armed FBI agents swooped on her 156-acre, £800,000 New Hampshire home in July 2020.
Despite her grim surroundings, Ms Maxwell manages to force a smile as she describes how prison guards were so impressed by her hairdressing skills that they gave her paper-cutting scissors and joked that she should open her own salon. (Above, the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn)
She has remained in custody ever since, surviving mostly on a diet of rice and beans with unsalted peanuts for protein and mayonnaise for fat.
Her arrest came 11 months after Epstein, her ex-boyfriend and long-time friend, killed himself in jail while facing child sex charges. Until Epstein's suicide, Maxwell had never faced criminal charges.
Her lawyers are expected to argue she is being punished by proxy for Epstein's heinous crimes because, as one source close to the case maintains, 'someone has to pay for what he did'.
Maxwell has told friends: 'I fear it will be impossible to get a fair trial. I have tremendous fear that overwhelmingly negative media stories will poison my jury pool and affect the outcome of my trial despite the evidence that will demonstrate everything the jurors thought they knew isn't true.
'I look forward to finally having my day in court to prove I played no part in Epstein's crimes.'
She cannot discuss the specifics of her case on the advice of her powerful legal team. Jury selection begins tomorrow, with the trial starting on November 29. The charges are grave. US authorities have described her as a 'procurer' of underage girls for convicted paedophile Epstein.
She also faces multiple felony charges, including 'transporting a minor for the purposes of criminal sexual activity' and 'conspiring to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts'.
Maxwell's trial will also put Prince Andrew's relationship with her, and Epstein, back under the spotlight.
The Duke of York's accuser Virginia Roberts, who claims she was sex-trafficked to Andrew three times (the first when she was 17 and under the legal age of consent), has vowed to attend the trial.
Andrew has vehemently denied Ms Roberts's claims. His friendship with Ghislaine stretches back decades and he was notoriously photographed with his arm around Ms Roberts's waist inside Maxwell's London mews house.
One lawyer associated with the case said: 'This will thrust Andrew back under the spotlight. It is inconceivable his name won't be introduced by the women who will testify against Maxwell. He must be dreading it.'
Ghislaine, the Oxford-educated daughter of disgraced newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, was transferred to the Brooklyn prison in July last year and has been seen by the public only in court sketches since then.
Maxwell also claimed that she has not had adequate time to prepare for the six-week trial. The process of selecting jury members for the trial starts today.
She is facing more than 80 years in jail if convicted on all charges.
Maxwell alleges she was given computers that don't work, that vital paperwork arrived late and that for a while she did not have a proper desk to work at.
She says 'there is no presumption of innocence' in the detention centre. 'Pre-trial detainees like me, who by law are innocent until proven guilty, are treated like they are already convicted felons,' she said.
'It's wrong, it's unAmerican and unconstitutional. Where are all the people who swore to uphold the Constitution?'
Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Roberts is expected to attend the trial and may give evidence. She has described Maxwell as 'pure evil', saying: 'Epstein was a sick paedophile but Maxwell was the mastermind.'(She is pictured leaving the US Federal Courthouse in NY in August 2019)
Maxwell faces a maximum of 80 years in prison if found guilty of abusing and procuring young girls for her ex-boyfriend, convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (Pictured: Maxwell being led to court in an artist's sketch on November 1)
She described her greatest fear is not being able to find an impartial jury. Coverage of the case in the US remains relentless, with her being referred to as 'Epstein's madam' and 'Epstein's socialite partner-in-crime'.
She objects: 'Being tagged a 'socialite' feels derogatory and sexist, designed to paint me in a negative light.
'I've worked my entire life, starting with part-time jobs when I was 15. No man who had a similar professional career would be called a socialite.
'I'm overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and shock at the grotesque and untrue narratives that are total fabrication and bear no resemblance to reality.
'I'm terrified the overwhelmingly negative coverage will poison my jury pool and affect the outcome of my trial, despite the evidence which I feel confident will prove my innocence.
'I look forward to having my day in court to prove I played no part in Epstein's crimes. I am innocent.'
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