Elizabeth Smart blasts Maxwell’s 'country club' prison treatment
Survivor and advocate Elizabeth Smart says reports of privileges at a Texas federal prison for Ghislaine Maxwell are sickening, comparing the case to her own trauma and urging accountability for victims.
Elizabeth Smart is voicing outrage over reports that Ghislaine Maxwell is receiving what she described as a 'country club' treatment behind bars in Texas. Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year sentence for procuring girls for Jeffrey Epstein. She arrived at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas, last summer after meeting with federal prosecutors, ahead of a Supreme Court ruling denying her appeal. The Wall Street Journal reported that Maxwell's fellow inmates were warned not to discuss her case with reporters, and that she has drawn occasional privileges at the 622-inmate facility, a designation unusual for someone convicted of sex trafficking. Maxwell is eligible for release in 2037.
To Fox News Digital, Smart said the reports are deeply troubling. "When I hear that Ghislaine’s in the country club of prisons, it just makes me sick to my stomach," Smart said. "How could she betray other women like that? How could she stand aside and watch young girls be abused — and be OK with it? Not just be OK with it, but encourage it? It’s disgusting." She added, "The whole situation is horrific, nightmarish and hellish — the way [she and Epstein] preyed on vulnerable girls." Smart noted the parallel between her own kidnapping and the Epstein-Maxwell case, saying, "Predators look for vulnerability — and that’s exactly what these girls and women were." She said Maxwell played a major role in the abuse, "not only did she stand aside and let me be hurt, but she also encouraged it and watched it happen."
The Journal's reporting described an atmosphere at Bryan in which inmates were told not to discuss Maxwell's case with reporters, and at least one inmate who spoke to a Journal reporter was transferred to a higher-security facility. Sam Mangel, a federal prison consultant who has advised clients including Sam Bankman-Fried and Steve Bannon, told Fox News Digital that Maxwell has been treated more like a guest in a hotel than an inmate. "Speaking with the sister of one of my clients yesterday or the day before, she told me that they are treating Maxwell more like she's the guest in a hotel as opposed to an inmate in a federal prison," Mangel said. In one example, he said, prison officials locked down the whole camp so Maxwell could have a secretive visit with guests in the chapel, with visitors entering through a side entrance so that no one could see who they were. "That's very unusual." But he cautioned that if Maxwell were to have visitors in front of other inmates, it could inflame controversy among families with daughters the same age as Maxwell's victims. "You're gonna go into a visiting room and see Maxwell, who doesn't belong there, having these visits in a casual situation or environment, that's upsetting," he said. "It really upsets the other inmates and their families."
The Journal noted that it is uncommon for someone convicted of sex crimes to be housed at Bryan, which Mangel described as a desirable prison for women convicted of white-collar offenses. A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maxwell is eligible for release in 2037 after serving 20 years for procuring girls for Epstein, who was found dead in a New York federal jail before his trial in 2019. On Wednesday, Maxwell asked a federal judge to vacate her sex-trafficking conviction, arguing substantial new evidence shows constitutional violations tainted her trial.
Smart has long positioned herself as a defender of trauma survivors. She is the founder of The Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which works to drive social change in the fight against sexual violence. She told Fox News Digital that the Epstein-Maxwell victims include Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has spoken publicly about abuse by Epstein and others. Smart said she would welcome the opportunity to meet with any of Epstein's victims, and stressed that survivors should know the abuse was not their fault. "They have no guilt in this situation. The blame lies solely on the perpetrators. No one can take away your value. You were born with it, and it never leaves you. You are every bit as worthy of love and joy as anyone else in the world — and you still deserve everything any person would want."
Elizabeth Smart, the Utah kidnapping survivor who was held for about nine months in 2002, has used her platform to advocate for child safety and trauma-informed care. Her own experience, she has said, informs a broader understanding of how predators target vulnerable individuals and the long shadow left by exploitation. The Elizabeth Smart Foundation continues to push for improvements in school safety education and support for survivors. Smart's new book, Detours: Hope & Growth After Life’s Hardest Truths, is available now, offering her perspective on healing after extreme trauma.
Smart's supporters emphasize the importance of keeping the focus on victims. As the case against Maxwell continues to unfold, advocacy groups say accountability and transparency in prison practices are essential to maintaining trust in the justice system. Smart herself has urged survivors to seek help and to understand that speaking out can contribute to broader cultural change that protects children from predation.
Elizabeth Smart's Detours: Hope & Growth After Life’s Hardest Truths is out now. The book cover is shown here for reference.
