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Elizabeth Smart is outraged that Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficking accomplice and former partner of Jeffrey Epstein, is reportedly receiving favorable treatment inside a so-called “Club Fed” prison in Texas.
Smart, one of America’s most recognized child abduction survivors, is now a child-safety activist who regularly speaks on behalf of missing and exploited children. In April, she appeared on “America’s Most Wanted” as a guest speaker. The 38-year-old has a new book, “Detours: Hope & Growth After Life’s Hardest Truths,” in which she explores how trauma can derail a person’s life.
“When I hear that Ghislaine’s in the country club of prisons, it just makes me sick to my stomach,” Smart told Fox News Digital. “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.”
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“The whole situation is just horrific, nightmarish and hellish — the way [she and Epstein] preyed on vulnerable girls,” Smart said. “And this woman facilitated the rape and abuse of so many girls.”
“One of the things that really haunts me is that she played a major role in the abuse these young women suffered,” Smart said. “That was the same as my captor. Not only did she stand aside and let me be hurt, but she also encouraged it and watched it happen. She never once protected me or stood in the way of him raping me. I felt like the Epstein case echoed that.”
“To me, I’ve always felt there’s a sisterhood between women,” she continued. “One woman should never betray another. A grown woman should never hurt or help facilitate the abuse of young girls. When that happened to me, it felt like a massive betrayal.”
In October, inmates at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas complained about new security measures and occasional special privileges reportedly granted to Maxwell, The Wall Street Journal reported. Bryan is a minimum-security facility with 622 inmates.
The 63-year-old Maxwell arrived at the facility last summer after meeting with federal prosecutors, before the Supreme Court denied her appeal. The outlet reported that Maxwell’s fellow inmates had been warned not to discuss her case with reporters. One inmate who spoke to a Journal reporter was later transferred to a higher-security prison.
Sam Mangel is a federal prison consultant whose clients have included Sam Bankman-Fried and Steve Bannon. He told Fox News Digital he works with two women incarcerated at Bryan, neither of whom will discuss Maxwell, even with him, over the phone or through email.
“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,” he 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.
“They actually closed everything down and locked everybody in their unit and brought the visitors into the chapel but through a side entrance so that no one can see who the visitors were,” Mangel said. “That’s very unusual.”
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However, he added, if Maxwell were to have visitors in front of other inmates, that could stoke further controversy, especially for prisoners with daughters the same age as Maxwell’s victims. It’s unprecedented that someone convicted of sex crimes would be housed at Bryan, he said, which he called the most desirable prison for women convicted of white collar felonies in the country.
“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.”
“Strings were absolutely pulled at the highest possible levels of the DOJ to get her moved from Tallahassee to Bryan,” he claimed. “Now, I agree that there was a reason to move her from Tallahassee. Once she started cooperating, . . . she became a target.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the time.
Maxwell is eligible for release in 2037 after serving a 20-year sentence for procuring girls for Epstein, who was found dead in a federal jail in New York City before his trial in 2019. On Wednesday, Maxwell asked a federal judge to vacate her sex-trafficking conviction, claiming “substantial new evidence” shows constitutional violations tainted her trial.
Smart said the couple who kidnapped and abused her bore chilling similarities to Epstein and Maxwell.
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“As I watched the Epstein case play out, it felt like a massive betrayal,” she said. “When I heard stories about Epstein’s victims — Virginia Roberts Giuffre in particular — and how her life ultimately ended, I felt that we, as a society, failed her. At least I had my day in court. The whole world knows my captors were guilty. One will never leave prison, and the other — unfortunately — was released after serving 15 years.”
“Predators look for vulnerability — and that’s exactly what these girls and women were,” Smart explained.
“Predators like Epstein and Maxwell exploit that vulnerability until these women and girls feel they have no other option but to do what they’re told,” she said. “It’s easy to look at victims and say, ‘You had a phone,’ or ‘You could have run away.’ But unless you’ve experienced it firsthand, you’ll never understand the forces that lead to trafficking.”
“Most people don’t want to think about anyone being sexually abused — especially children,” Smart said. “Because you never think it will happen to you, many never take the time to have these important conversations. Think about the school system, for example, and all the safety lessons we’re taught. Everyone knows to stop, drop and roll if you catch fire — but how many people actually use that?”
Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and other powerful men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, died in April at age 41. Within weeks of her posthumous memoir’s release in October, King Charles III stripped Andrew of his titles and evicted him from his royal residence.
Smart said she would welcome the opportunity to meet with any of Epstein’s victims.
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“I would want them to know this was not their fault,” she said. “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.”
For nine months, the Utah resident was held captive by Brian David Mitchell — a street preacher who claimed to be a prophet — and his wife, Wanda Barzee. He had previously worked as a roofer at the Smarts’ home for a day in 2001, People magazine reported. Smart was 14 at the time.
Smart later testified that she had been drugged, tied to a tree and raped as often as four times a day, the outlet reported. Mitchell warned her that if she cried for help, her family would be killed. “America’s Most Wanted” aired an episode about Smart’s 2002 abduction, which led to her being recognized by a couple who spotted her walking with her captors. She was rescued in 2003.
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In 2011, Mitchell, now 72, was sentenced to life in prison. Barzee, 80, who helped kidnap Smart and stood by as she was sexually assaulted, was released in 2018. Under her release terms, Barzee must undergo mental health treatment and is barred from contacting Smart or her family.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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