London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026

Maxwell’s new digs: Fla. prison known for yoga, music, abuse

Maxwell’s new digs: Fla. prison known for yoga, music, abuse

Ghislaine Maxwell, the jet-setting socialite turned convicted sex trafficker, is off to Florida to serve a 20-year federal prison sentence for helping financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls — returning to the same state, but a far cry from the posh lifestyle, where she committed some of her crimes.
Maxwell, 60, was moved last week to FCI Tallahassee, a low-security federal prison in Florida’s capital, from the Brooklyn federal jail where she’d spent the last two years under close watch in light of Epstein’s 2019 jail suicide, the federal Bureau of Prisons said.

It wasn’t clear whether Maxwell would be held in restrictive housing or under other special precautions, given her notoriety and long-standing concerns about her well-being behind bars.

Maxwell, who was convicted last December in Manhattan and sentenced in June, repeatedly complained about her treatment at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, her home since her July 2020 arrest.

Maxwell and her lawyers complained that jail officers were flashing a light into her cell every 15 minutes, interrupting her sleep, and subjecting her to hundreds of searches and pat downs. She also claimed that a guard at the Brooklyn facility physically abused her and that she was punished for complaining about it.

A message seeking comment was left with Maxwell’s lawyers.

Maxwell, who once consorted with royals, presidents and billionaires as the daughter of a British publishing magnate, was convicted of luring teenage girls for Epstein to abuse.

Her monthlong trial featured sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico.

Maxwell’s new home, FCI Tallahassee, is about 360 miles (580 kilometers) from Epstein’s since-demolished mansion in glitzy Palm Beach where prosecutors say some of the abuse occurred.

The prison, opened in 1938, has about 820 male and female inmates. According to an inmate handbook, people locked up at the facility have access to a wide range of classes and activities, including painting, leather, art and ceramics, musical instruments, team sports such as softball, basketball and volleyball.

The prison also offers yoga, Pilates, movies and an inmate talent show, according to prison consulting firm Zoukis Consulting Group.

Maxwell is joining a short list of notable people who’ve served time at FCI Tallahassee, including Maria Butina, the Russian secret agent who tried to infiltrate conservative U.S. political groups, and Colleen LaRose, known as “Jihad Jane” for providing material support to terrorists. Butina was released in 2019 and deported to Russia. LaRose was released in 2018.

Like many federal prisons, as The Associated Press has reported, FCI Tallahassee has had its share of employees committing crimes in recent years — including sexual abuse of inmates.

In March, former FCI Tallahassee recreation specialist Jimmy Lee Highsmith was sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing an inmate between March 2014 and September 2018.

In August 2021, former FCI Tallahassee food service foreman Phillip Golightly was sentenced to two years in prison for sexually abusing an inmate in November 2019.

In 2006, a correctional officer and a federal agent were killed in a gun battle on the prison’s grounds. The officer opened fire as agents attempted to arrest him and several other officers on charges they gave contraband to female inmates in exchange for sex, officials said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Housebuilding Across Scotland Plummets to Eleven-Year Low Despite Government Pledges to Tackle National Housing Emergency
Greggs Announces Factory Closures Across Northern England and Scotland Affecting Seven Hundred Forty Jobs
United Kingdom and Singapore Conclude Eleventh Financial Dialogue in Singapore to Deepen Cooperation on Digital Finance and Capital Markets
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs to Gas Bills and Tap Windfall Profits to Lower Consumer Prices
British Broadcasting Corporation Announces Major Cost-Cutting Overhaul to Close Linear Broadcast Services for Television Channels BBC Three and BBC Scotland Alongside Digital Radio Station BBC Radio Four Extra
London Capital Markets Face Renewed Scrutiny After High-Profile Offerings Underperform Post-Listing
Green Party Wins Historic First Westminster Parliamentary By-Election in Gorton and Denton
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds Unveils Sweeping Regulatory Overhaul for English Water Industry
United Kingdom Health Security Agency Confirms Thirty-Four Cases in Kent Meningitis Outbreak
Ministry of Defence Prepares Heat Pump Subsidy Cuts to Fund Urgent Military Modernization
British and European Union Officials Schedule Long-Awaited Bilateral Leaders Summit for November Twentieth
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Urges Strict Fiscal Credibility to Protect British Bond Markets
United Kingdom Inflation Rises to Three Point One Percent Driven by Escalating Fuel Costs
Profit Warnings Among London-Listed Companies Reach Two-Year High Amid Global Energy Shocks
Chancellor John Healey Signals Targeted Tax Changes on Banks and London Corporate Offices Ahead of Budget
British Government Reallocates Twenty-Five Per Cent of International Climate Finance to Global Biodiversity Projects
Initial British Carbon Border Taxes Set to Undercut Parallel European Union Tariffs on Industrial Imports
Whitehall Prepares National Zero-Interest Loan Initiative to Accelerate Domestic Heat Pump and Solar Adoption
European Union Offers British Automakers Access to Hybrid Vehicle Trade Protections Subject to Strict Regulatory Alignment
British Probation Officers Threaten Widespread Industrial Action After Rejecting Five Per Cent Government Pay Offer
Microsoft Abandons Major British Artificial Intelligence Data Centre Citing Severe National Grid Power Constraints
United Kingdom Inflation Accelerates to Three Point Four Per Cent Ahead of Chancellor John Healey's Inaugural Autumn Budget
Surging Cloned Number Plates Severely Complicate Traffic Enforcement and Police Investigations
Mounting Opposition Challenges Planned Rollout of Autonomous Taxis Across London
Influential Think Tank Urges Rejoining European Union to Navigate Geopolitical Crises
Government Review Recommends Slashing Benefits to Fund Youth Employment Initiatives
Senior Minister Shabana Mahmood Seeks New Law Enforcement Pact With European Union
Airbus Executive Warns Britain Risks Losing Crucial Role in European Space Industry
Exorbitant Electricity Costs Push British Steelmakers to Worst Competitive Position in Three Years
British Food and Beverage Exports to European Union Collapse by Over a Third Since Brexit
Up to Twenty English Maternity Units Face Impending Closure Due to Safety and Staffing Crises
Government Declares Severe Drought Across Southern England Following Record Dry Spell
Corporate Profit Warnings Reach Two-Year High Amid Middle East Conflict and Rising Costs
International Monetary Fund Warns Chancellor John Healey Against Proposed Bank Tax Raid
Northern Ireland Secures Favorable Agricultural Export Agreement with European Union
Scottish Government Approves Major Offshore Floating Wind Farm Near Aberdeenshire
High Speed Two Rail Project Faces Three Billion Pound Cost Escalation on Initial Phase
National Health Service Warns of Winter Capacity Crisis Across English Hospitals
Tata Steel Confirms Two Thousand Job Cuts at Port Talbot to Fund Green Transition
Global Microchip Developer Announces Three Billion Pound Semiconductor Plant in Cambridge
United Kingdom Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Proposes Mandatory Licensing for Generative Models
United Kingdom Commits Additional Long-Range Weapons and Air Defenses to Ukraine
British Chancellor Overhauls Infrastructure Financing to Bypass Borrowing Constraints
Bank of England Holds Benchmark Interest Rate at Four Point Five Percent
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth Confirms Constitutional Discussions Over Welsh Independence During Initial Bilateral Call with Prime Minister
Labour Party Instructs Local Council Groups to Sever Power-Sharing Accords with Green Party Over New Controversial Policy Positions
Institute for Fiscal Studies Warns of Thirty-Five Billion Pound Fiscal Gap Ahead of Chancellor John Healey Upcoming Autumn Budget
House of Lords Backs Landmark Legislative Amendment to Decriminalize Abortion Across England and Wales
United Kingdom Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Travels to Pentagon for High-Level Strategic Talks Amid Escalating Tensions Over Ukraine and United States Policy Shifts
Bank of England and International Monetary Fund Officials Issue Urgent Warnings Regarding Potential Artificial Intelligence Financial Market Shocks
×