Ghislaine Maxwell appears via a video link during her court hearing, where she was denied bail for her role, helping Jeffrey Epstein recruit and eventually mistreat underage girls at Manhattan Federal Court in New York. York, July 14, 2020, in this room sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Federal prosecutors on Friday urged a judge to reject a new bail application from Ghislaine Maxwell, saying there are no conditions that can ensure the British Socialist does not flee to avoid trial for allegedly inculcating the sexual abuse of Jeffrey’s minors Epstein.
“The defendant poses an extreme risk of absconding,” prosecutors wrote in a Manhattan federal court filed days after Maxwell proposed the release of Brooklyn Federal Prison with a $ 28.5 million bail.
“The criminal conduct mentioned in the indictment remains incredibly serious, the evidence against the defendant remains strong and the defendant continues to have extensive financial resources and foreign ties, as well as the demonstrated ability to live long-term hidden,” they state. the prosecutors. he wrote.
The presentation includes a letter that includes a statement from Annie Farmer, a woman who says both Maxwell and Epstein sexually abused her.
Farmer wrote that he did not believe she or “any of the women [Maxwell] exploited will see justice if released on bail. “
“He has lived a privileged life, abusing his position of power to live beyond the rules. Fleeing the country to escape once again would fit with his long history of antisocial behavior,” Farmer wrote.
Maxwell denies having committed any crime.
Judge Alison Nathan rejected Maxwell’s first bail application after she was arrested in July on charges of recruiting and fixing several underage girls who were later abused by her late money manager Epstein, her ex-boyfriend. .
Nathan at the time said he posed an extreme risk of flight due to his citizenship in France and Britain and his significant wealth.
In her new bail application, Maxwell requested the release of a bail package that would be secured by a $ 22.5 million personal recognition bond, equivalent to the value of the assets declared by her and her husband, and millions more engaged to seven close relatives and friends.
Maxwell has proposed that the armed guards ensure that she stays in a New York City residence and that she is monitored with an electronic device.
“Mrs. Maxwell vehemently maintains her innocence and pledges to defend herself,” her lawyers wrote.
“She wants nothing more than to stay in this country to fight the allegations against her, which are based on the unsubstantiated testimony of a handful of witnesses about events that occurred more than 25 years ago.”
Prosecutors filed Friday that Maxwell’s new bail application “largely rejects” the arguments he made in July when his first bail application was denied.
And prosecutors said his offer to effectively waive France’s extradition in the event of a bail was missed was not worth it, because the French justice ministry has reiterated to prosecutors that the nation does not extradite its citizens for criminal proceedings.
The file also noted that while Maxwell’s bail motion “now states that his marriage would remain in the United States, his motion does not address the clearly inconsistent statements he made to Pretrial Services at the time of the her arrest, “when she said she was” “in the process of divorcing her husband.”
“Consequently, the foreign ties, wealth and ability of the accused to avoid detection continue to weigh in favor of the arrest,” prosecutors wrote.
Epstein, 66, died in August 2019 in Manhattan Prison so officials have ruled it was a hanging suicide. He had been arrested the previous month on federal charges of child sex trafficking.
Epstein was a former friend of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Prince Andrew of Great Britain.