Thursday 30 June 2022 01:09 AM Ghislaine Maxwell could use prison swap scheme to relocate to British jail, ... trends now
Ghislaine Maxwell’s 20-year sentence could be slashed if she is allowed to serve it in the UK.
Legal expert Mark Stephens said she would then come under British law rather than US rules, which forbid parole for federal crimes.
That means Maxwell, 60 – who is expected to appeal – may have to spend only a further eight years in jail, and could be free before she is 70.
Mr Stephens, of London legal firm Howard Kennedy, said: ‘I think it will take until autumn to appeal. Once the appeal is done, if she’s British she’s entitled to opt for the prison swap regime – it usually takes six to 18 months as it depends on a US citizen to be shipped back to America.
A courtroom illustration of Ghislaine Maxwell with her defence lawyer Christian Everdell during her sentencing hearing in New York City on Tuesday. She was sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking
The sentencing marks the end of a decades-long fight for justice by victims of Maxwell and Epstein
‘She starts her remaining tariff on an English basis. Say it took two years to get here, she’s already served two years, she’s got 16 years left.’
He said UK inmates get up to a third off for good behaviour and a third off for remission, adding: ‘She would only serve five or six more years.
The legal expert added: ‘For Maxwell, the US authorities have to agree to it, as do the UK authorities and there has to be a prisoner to swap. I’m sure Kevin Maxwell and his sisters can afford to make the trip to the US to visit her but not everybody can. She’s not getting special treatment.’
Ghislaine was Robert Maxwell's youngest child, born on Christmas Day 1961 She's pictured with her father in 1984
But Mr Stephens pointed out there are lot of hurdles for the convicted child sex predator to overcome before she can contemplate early freedom.
Explaining the process for her to switch to UK prison, Mr Stephens - of London-based Howard Kennedy - told the Mail: ‘She’s got to go through the appeal on the conviction and the sentence which is why she essentially confessed as best she could in her apology. She would have been advised not to admit any guilt but she tried to do something within the constraints of what she had.
As grinning Andrew breaks cover, Maxwell victims tell him: You’re next target
By From Sam Greenhill and Daniel Bates in New York for Daily Mail
Prince Andrew came under fresh pressure last night to talk to the FBI about his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein following Ghislaine Maxwell’s jailing.
Her victims say the duke and other ‘cowardly’ Epstein associates who ‘hide behind power and prestige’ should be targeted by the authorities.
As a grinning Andrew, 62, broke cover yesterday for a horse ride in Windsor, one lawyer said he should ‘definitely be concerned’.
Maxwell, 60, is likely to serve at least 15 of the 20 years she was given in a New York court on Tuesday for doing ‘incalculable damage to young girls’ with Epstein.
The Duke of York smiled at the cameras as he rode through Windsor Great Park on Wednesday on a brown steed
The duke's former associate, Maxwell, 60, was jailed for 20 years after a court heard how she trafficked vulnerable teenagers for billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
Andrew was also spotted behind the wheel of his Range Rover as he drove through Windsor Great Park
The Duke of York, Virginia Roberts, and Ghislaine Maxwell at the socialite's home in London
Yesterday, victims’ lawyer Spencer Kuvin
