Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was given paper clothes in jail over concerns she may commit suicide, The Associated Press reports.
Maxwell was arrested earlier this month on charges that she recruited and groomed teenage victims for Epstein to abuse.
But Justice Department officials are apparently concerned she may follow Epstein in committing suicide while awaiting trial.
Epstein hanged himself in his jail cell while facing federal child sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell was recently transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the same jail where Epstein was held.
Maxwell given paper clothes:
The DOJ has placed federal officials outside the Bureau of Prisons to ensure there is adequate oversight.
Officials also took away her clothes and bedsheets and made her wear paper clothes.
“The other protocols put in place for Maxwell’s confinement include ensuring that she has a roommate in her cell, that she is monitored and that someone is always with her while she’s behind bars,” the AP reported.
AG takes over:
"We have asked [the Bureau of Prisons] to tell us specifically the protocols they're following and we have a number of redundant systems to monitor the situation," Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News.
Barr said he was “livid” when Epstein died in custody.
"I believe very strongly in that case," he said. "And I was very proud of the work done by the department, the Southern District [of New York], on that case. And as you will recall, after he committed suicide, I said that I was confident that we would continue to pursue this case vigorously and pursue anyone who's complicit in it. And so I'm very happy that we were able to get Ms. Maxwell."
