Ghislaine Maxwell will exploit her notoriety to control more vulnerable inmates in prison, Andrew’s cousin claims
GHISLAINE Maxwell will exploit her notoriety to control more vulnerable inmates in prison, Prince Andrew's cousin has sensationally claimed.
The disgraced former socialite, 60, was jailed for two decades earlier this week for sex trafficking teens for late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
She will soon be moved from the notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, to the minimum-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut.
The plush lockup served as the inspiration for Orange Is the New Black - and experts claim it will be "like Disneyland" for the criminal who has been enduring a "living hell" in the lead up to her trial, according to her lawyers.
Prince Andrew's second cousin, Christina Oxenberg, who used to be friends with Maxwell but turned down the chance to write her autobiography, spoke to The Sun exclusively about how she feels the criminal will cope with prison life.
Christina claims: "While it may be provocative for people to herald threats of stabbings and maggoty food that await her the next 20 years, the reality of her sentence, justly or not, will be much more comfortable for Ghislaine.
"She has a vital resource that will make sure she does just fine: support from the outside. Even better [and to her, probably most important], is that that support also comes with fabulous wealth.
"Money talks just as loudly in prison as anywhere else in the world, in fact even more so, especially to those who don't have it.
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"During my time in the Florida prisons, working as a volunteer teaching creative writing, I saw lifelong connections and loyalties made with gifts of food and simple pleasures we wouldn't think twice about walking past in the outside world.
"And falling right behind money, Ghislaine has the second biggest insulator: fame. In prison, of course, fame insulates for a different reason.
"Even if inadvertently, 'celebrity' inmates will get extra attention and safety – because anything negative that happens will put scrutiny on the powers that be.
"But more importantly, to the inmates, celebrities are a real, tangible connection to the outside, and Ghislaine is especially adept at exploiting the power of fame to her benefit."
Maxwell, who was seen with shackles around her ankles which rattled at her recent hearing, showed no emotion when facing the public gallery as her sentence was handed down.
In an earlier statement, she claimed her association with Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial, was the greatest regret of her life.
NO ACCOUNTABILITY
She apologized to the victims and branded him a "manipulative and cunning man who fooled all in his orbit" but insisted she was innocent and was also tricked by him.
Christina told The Sun: "As I've always known her and as she certainly proved herself to be during her statement at sentencing, Ghislaine refuses to take true accountability for her actions.
"She is painting herself now as a victim of Jeffrey Epstein [which must be particularly infuriating to the women she actively participated in abusing] because her mind has embraced that as truth.
"Unfortunately, the ironic reality is that she will be surrounded by true victims; FCI Danbury and other prisons like it are filled with women who are serving lengthy terms as either scapegoats or because they fought back against abuse themselves.
"She will use that to her advantage to build a sense of camaraderie with these women while always keeping an eye on staying on top of the food chain."
Maxwell will likely request a transfer to the United Kingdom after serving three years of her sentence.
SEX MAD
Christina, who has written a book about her encounters with Maxwell in the 1990s, feels she has the "innate qualities" that will serve her well over a long sentence.
The Serbian-American writer previously branded Prince Andrew as a "hapless sap" and "low-hanging fruit" after he was accused of sleeping with Epstein's sex slave, Virginia Giuffre.
She alleged Maxwell once 'boasted' to her about procuring women for billionaire financier Epstein, and claims they recorded famous pals during stays at his many lavish residences.
Christina also recalled parties she attended where Maxwell was a guest, referencing her shocking behavior and often inappropriate comments.
"She has a bawdy sense of humor; her favorite topic was always sex – a particular area of interest in prisons – not least of all her own well-documented bisexual experiences," she told The Sun this week.
"Ghislaine loves to shock, and she does it as much to be entertaining as strategic.
Ghislaine Maxwell
"She never had a problem working a room and establishing and manipulating power relationships to her benefit," a tactic Christina claims she learned at her late father's knee and was honed by her crimes with Epstein.
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"Some may call it a 'criminal mind,' but that was the world Ghislaine always knew," she went on.
"She will be more at home in prison than she may even be aware."
