British socialite and convicted sex traffickers, Ghislaine Maxwell was once a target of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), her legal team revealed.
Maxwell appeared in Manhattan court last week, where her attorneys stated that when her father Robert Maxwell was a Member of the Parliament in the 1960s, some UK authorities discovered a 'hit list' of potential kidnapping / assassination targets in a safe house used by the IRA, as per The Sun.
IRA Had Executed Four MPs During The Northern Ireland conflict
The first name in the list was Maxwell's, they added. This was at the time when the IRA had executed four MPs during the Northern Ireland conflict, that lasted nearly 30 years from 1960s till 1998.
In the proceeding, her representatives were attempting to portray her as an unfortunate victim of former boyfriend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, for whom she used to manipulate and groom girls as young as 14.
The team further went on to request the judge for a lighter sentence of 51 to 63 months, instead of the 20 years recommended by the US probation service, claiming that it would be a "travesty of justice" if she had to face a sentence more appropriate for Epstein.
Highlighting her "difficult and traumatic" childhood the team tried blaming her father billionaire media tycoon and former MP, Robert Maxwell for her alleged victimhood.
According to the Daily Beast, the attorneys mentioned that because of his "overbearing, narcissistic and demanding" nature she became vulnerable to Epstein, who met her after Robert Maxwell passed away in 1991.
The disgraced socialite was apprehended by the FBI in July 2020, exactly a year after Epstein as she was accused of going into hiding over allegations of being majorly involved in his sex trafficking ring.
Her legal team continued defending Maxwell with claims that she had no other choice but to hide as she had received multiple death threats after her former boyfriend was arrested.
Described as "a sophisticated predator" who was well aware of her crimes by prosecutors, in December last year Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking and grooming young girls for Epstein from 1994 to 2004.
She is currently incarcerated and awaiting her sentencing on June 28.
