Ghislaine Maxwell, the former madam of the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested last month on six charges related to her allegedly grooming young girls for sex. Now, however, a friend of Maxwell’s is speaking out to warn that the 58 year-old British socialite “still has a trick or two up her sleeve” to escape justice.

Maxwell has been remanded to prison in New York City until her trial, which is not scheduled to take place until July of 2021, after a judge deemed her to be a significant flight risk because of her immense wealth and international connections. However, a writer who previously moved in the same circles as Maxwell is warning the public not to be surprised if she finds a way to escape serious prison time.

“From what my investigative journalist friends tell me, Epstein and Maxwell kept careful tabs on their house guests and, they say, labelled tapes,” Helen Kirwan-Taylor wrote in a piece for The Telegraph. “Some people in Epstein’s ‘little black book’ might have good reason to worry.”

It has previously been reported that Epstein and Maxwell may have filmed their powerful friends engaging in sex acts at their mansion, and Kirwan-Taylor believes that the socialite may try to use those tapes as a bargaining chip to secure her freedom.

“I suspect Ghislaine, raised by one depraved fraudster and romantically entangled with another, has a trick or two up her sleeve, yet,” she wrote.

Kirwan-Taylor also recalled how Maxwell used her social connections to elevate herself into better circles, explaining that “she came with a stamp of approval from Prince Andrew,” as the two had been friends since they were children.

“The thinking was if she hangs out with him, she must be OK,” Kirwan-Taylor wrote. “I observed how easy it was for someone with a British accent and the faint whiff of poshness to forge their way into the most exclusive circles.”

She described Maxwell as someone who loved being in the “middle of the action,” adding that “Ghislaine was like a sniffer dog: sharp, alert and with a nose that could detect any useful information.”

If convicted on all charges, Maxwell is facing 35 years in prison.