Well, that’s good news for dogs.
Jailed sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell has been barred from participating in the sought-after “puppy program” at the cushy prison camp the Trump administration transferred her to.
Canine Companions, which uses inmates to train puppies to become service dogs, says convicted sex traffickers like Maxwell are not allowed to participate in training.
“We do not allow anyone whose crime involves abuse towards minors or animals—including any crime of a sexual nature,” CEO Paige Mazzoni told NBC News. “That’s a hard policy we have, so she will not be able to.”
Mazzoni added, “Those are crimes against the vulnerable, and you’re putting them with a puppy who is vulnerable.”
The puppy program at Federal Prison Camp Bryan allows inmates to spend the day and night with a trainee canine. Julie Howell, a 44-year-old serving a theft sentence, posted to social media that she is training a “12-week-old yellow lab named Louise.”
She said of her prison gig, “I absolutely love it.”
Victims of Maxwell have testified that she used her dog to lure children to be abused by Epstein. A victim identified as Jane told the court that Maxwell used “a cute little Yorkie” to first start a conversation with her at Interlochen Center for the Arts youth camp in Michigan in 1994, when she was 14. Jane said Maxwell became a big sister to her. That changed once she began teaching her how to “massage” Epstein.
An employee of Epstein’s testified that Maxwell took her yorkie, “Max,” with her everywhere.
Maxwell, 63, will have to find work elsewhere in the lock-up. Still, she enjoys fewer restrictions at her new minimum-security camp in Texas—where she was transferred last week after meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for nine hours—than she did at her low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, where she spent the first four years of her 20-year sentence.
The Jeffrey Epstein confidant now lives in dormitory-style housing on the same property as the disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and reality TV star Jen Shah.
Maxwell’s new digs have no prison walls or guard towers. Previous inmates have simply walked off the campus, which is situated in the middle of a neighborhood in Bryan, Texas, with the nearest elementary school just a mile away and the closest public park less than a half-mile walk.
The lavish amenities—by prison standards—at FPC Bryan have led some to refer to the facility as “Club Fed.” There, Maxwell will be able to purchase L’Oréal Revita anti-aging cream for $26.00 from the commissary, and will be granted access to a fully stocked gym and outdoor running track with views—through a chain-link fence—into the outside world.
Maxwell has reportedly received a cold welcome from her fellow inmates, who are mainly serving time for financial crimes like wire fraud and tax evasion. If she were to make some friends, however, Club Fed has intramural sporting competitions, ping pong tables, music programs, and “social events,” says the prison consultant Michael Santos.
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