Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been transferred from a prison in the southern US state of Florida to a lower security facility in Texas, the Bureau of Prisons announced Friday. 

Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, also confirmed to the Reuters news agency that she had been transferred to the new facility. 

Maxwell is currently serving a 20 year sentence behind bars on charges of child sex trafficking. She is accused of grooming underage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.

US authorities did not explain the reason why Maxwell was transferred to a new facility in Bryan, Texas. She was earlier imprisoned at FCI Tallahassee in Tallahassee, Florida.     

The minimum-security Federal Prison Camp Bryan where Maxwell is now housed has better conditions than the low-security FCI Tallahassee in Florida.

Federal Prison Camp Bryan has little to no perimeter fencing and a lower staff-to-inmate ratio, whereas FCI Tallahassee has double-fenced perimeters fencing and more prison staff on site.   

How have Epstein and Maxwell victims reacted?

Victims of Epstein and Maxwell have condemned Maxwell's move to a lower-security prison. 

"Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency," Annie and Marie Farmer and the family of Virginia Giuffre said in response to the transfer. They said the transfer "smacks of a cover up."

Annie and Marie Farmer have accused Epstein of molestation, whereas Giuffre has alleged that she was sex trafficked by Epstein to Prince Andrew, a member of the British royal family. Giuffre took her own life in April. 

Maxwell's transfer comes as Trump admin faces 'Epstein files' firestorm

The transfer occurred after Maxwell recently met with US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. It comes as Maxwell is appealing her prison sentence and the US President Donald Trump's administration is facing criticism over its handling of the Epstein case. 

Last month, the US Justice Department said that Epstein did not have a "client list" and that he did indeed kill himself in his prison cell in 2019.

Both of those claims were met with skepticism from many Trump supporters, who urged the Trump administration to release more information on the Epstein case. 

The scandal regarding the so-called "Epstein files" is of a personal nature for Trump, who once was friends with Epstein. The disgraced New York financier had even said he was Trump's "closest friend" in recordings released by author Michael Wolff last year.  

The meetings between Blanche and Maxwell recently have sparked rumors that Trump could use presidential pardon powers to legally forgive Maxwell's federal charges.

Trump has claimed he has the authority to pardon Maxwell, although Virginia Giuffre's family have urged him not to do so. Trump said in an interview with conservative US outlet Newsmax that "nobody's asked" him to pardon Maxwell.     

Edited by: Rana Taha