Ghislaine Maxwell appears via video link at her hearing where her bail was denied for her role in helping Jeffrey Epstein recruit and ultimately abuse underage girls, at Manhattan Federal Court in New York, July 14, 2020 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Federal prosecutors urged a judge on Friday to dismiss a new bail request from Ghislaine Maxwell, saying there are no conditions that could keep the British socialite from fleeing to avoid a trial over alleged complicity in Jeffrey Epstein’s child sexual abuse.
“The suspect poses an extreme flight risk,” prosecutors wrote in a federal court in Manhattan filed days after Maxwell proposed to be released from a federal prison in Brooklyn on $ 28.5 million bail.
“The criminal conduct described in the indictment remains incredibly serious, the evidence against the suspect remains strong, and the suspect still has extensive financial resources and foreign ties, as well as the proven ability to live in hiding for long periods,” the prosecutors said. wrote.
The filing includes a letter with a statement from Annie Farmer, a woman who says both Maxwell and Epstein sexually assaulted her.
Farmer wrote that she did not believe she or “any of the women.” [Maxwell] exploited will see justice if released on bail. “
“She has lived a privileged life and is abusing her position of power to live outside the rules. Fleeing the country to escape again would fit with her long history of anti-social behavior,” Farmer wrote.
Maxwell denies having committed any crime.
Judge Alison Nathan turned down Maxwell’s first bail offer after she was arrested in July on charges of recruiting and caring for several underage girls who were later abused by late money manager Epstein, an ex-boyfriend of hers.
Nathan said at the time that she posed an extreme flight risk because of her citizenship in France and Great Britain and her considerable wealth.
In her new bail request, Maxwell asked to be released on a bail package that would be secured by a $ 22.5 million personal acknowledgment bond, equal to the value of her and her husband’s declared assets, and millions more pledged by seven family members and close friends. .
Maxwell has suggested that 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 is determined to defend herself,” her lawyers wrote.
“She wants nothing more than to stay in this country to combat the allegations against her, which are based on the unconfirmed testimony of a handful of witnesses about events that took place more than 25 years ago.”
Prosecutors said in their filing on Friday that Maxwell’s new bail request largely “repeats” the arguments she made in July when her first bail request was rejected.
And prosecutors said her offer to effectively waive extradition from France in the event that she skipped bail was worthless, as the French Ministry of Justice has reiterated to prosecutors that the country is citizens. not extradited for criminal prosecution.
The filing also noted that although Maxwell’s bail motion “now claims that her marriage would continue in the United States, her motion does not address the downright inconsistent statements she made to the privileged services at the time of her arrest,” when she said she was. “‘while getting divorced from her husband.” ‘
“Accordingly, the defendant’s foreign ties, wealth and ability to avoid detection continue to weigh in favor of detention,” the prosecutors wrote.
Epstein, 66, died in a Manhattan prison in August 2019 of what officials say was a suicide by hanging. He was arrested last month on charges of federal child trafficking.
Epstein was a former friend of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Britain’s Prince Andrew.