<p>NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors say Ghislaine Maxwell is not under suicide watch, but it’s still necessary to flash light into her cell every 15 minutes as she sleeps while she awaits a sex trafficking trial.</p>
<p>They told a judge Wednesday that heightened security for Maxwell was necessary because of the nature of the charges she faces, the potential stress she faces in a high-profile criminal case and because of a need to ensure her safety in a cell where she is alone.</p>
<p>Maxwell’s lawyers say the light flashing is a response to ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein’s August 2019 suicide as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.</p>
<p>Maxwell, 59, has been held without bail since July on charges alleging she recruited teenage girls from 1994 to 2004 for Epstein to sexually abuse. She has pleaded not guilty.</p>
<p>Prosecutors based their letter on a consultation with lawyers for the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Maxwell is held, after a judge requested an explanation for the flashing of light at the ceiling of Maxwell’s cell every 15 minutes while she sleeps.</p>
<p>Two judges of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ny-state-wire-ghislaine-maxwell-4d7e32ad6e1b12a61fe8259fea187663">the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recommended the explanations</a> be sought after recently rejecting an appeal of three rulings rejecting bail for Maxwell.</p>
<p>They also questioned why Maxwell was not allowed to wear a mask that would shield her eyes at night. Her lawyer told the 2nd Circuit that she puts socks or a towel over her eyes to try to sleep.</p>
<p>Maxwell’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>In their letter, prosecutors said Maxwell cannot be issued an eye mask because they are not available for purchase in the jail commissary and are thus considered contraband.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ny-state-wire-ghislaine-maxwell-trials-9b9fc19473f8f57f740f5ef718e828a5"> trial of Maxwell was postponed </a> this week from July until early fall, though no date has yet been set.</p>
<p>Maxwell’s lawyers have said a postponement of the trial was necessary after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ny-state-wire-trials-ghislaine-maxwell-05c7d66a0885da88021a908615c211ba">prosecutors in late March added sex trafficking charges </a> to the case. They also cited what they described as onerous jail conditions that slow Maxwell’s ability to prepare for trial.</p>
<p>Maxwell was arrested in July on charges that she recruited three teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 1997. A superseding indictment in March added a fourth teenage girl to the allegations and extended the years of the alleged conspiracy to 2004.</p>
