NEW YORK (AP) – Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell told court officials at the time of her arrest in July that she was “divorcing her husband,” a revelation that prosecutors say undermines her argument that the marriage will keep her in the US if she is released from prison.
Prosecutors highlighted Maxwell’s divorce debate in a 33-page response on Friday to her attorneys’ renewed pitch to get her out of a federal lockup in Brooklyn, where she is awaiting trial on charges that she recruited at least three teenage girls for Epstein to the mid-1990s.
Born into wealth and high society as the daughter of a British publishing magnate, Maxwell is now regularly woken up by security guards to make sure she’s breathing and her lawyers say she is at an increased risk of getting COVID-19 behind bars .
Maxwell’s lawyers suggested in court documents this week that she instead await trial under $ 28.5 million bail, supported largely by her and her husband’s assets, including armed guards to make sure she doesn’t flee a New York City home.
However, prosecutors noted in their response that she would be staying there with someone other than her husband. The person’s name has been blackened on court papers. Maxwell’s husband has not been identified in any court documents.
58-year-old Maxwell remains an extreme flight risk as she is charged with up to 35 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said. In addition to the US and UK, she also has citizenship in France, which does not extradite her citizens outside the European Union, they said.
Maxwell’s ex-boyfriend Epstein committed suicide in his cell in a federal prison in Manhattan in August 2019, a month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. He was 66.
Prosecutors said in their filing on Friday that they are confident in the strength of the case against Maxwell, which they believe will include comprehensive testimony from the three prosecutors, as well as supporting documents and testimony.
Maxwell’s lawyers have said she “vigorously maintains her innocence” and is determined to stay in the US and defend herself.
All three of the women Maxwell recruited for Epstein because girls want her to stay in prison pending trial, prosecutors said. One of them, Annie Farmer, wrote in a letter accompanying the prosecution’s reply that she did not think they would ever see justice if Maxwell was released.
“She has lived a privileged life and is abusing her position of power to live outside the rules,” Farmer wrote. “Fleeing the country to escape again would fit with its long history of anti-social behavior.”
The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse unless they have consented to be named publicly, as Farmer has done.
Maxwell’s first attempt at bail shortly after her arrest was rejected.
Federal agents were watching Maxwell after Epstein’s arrest followed her to a wooded New Hampshire estate she bought for $ 1 million a year ago. Her friends and family in letters to the court urged her to seek seclusion there after receiving death threats and concerned that the public and media would find her in a house where she lived with her husband.
A financial report included with court documents in Maxwell’s case said that she and her husband got married in 2016 and that she deposited most of her assets in a trust that he managed. Those assets were worth $ 22.5 million on Oct. 31, the report said.
Maxwell still has access to more than $ 4 million in uninhibited funds, prosecutors said, citing the financial report. She owns a $ 2 million mansion in London, has hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry and access to $ 7 million paid to her attorneys, prosecutors said.
In addition to Maxwell’s marriage intrigues, prosecutors said, she and her husband both listed their marital status as “ single ” on bank forms they filled out about two years ago to open a trust account.
Prosecutors urged judge, Alison Nathan, to give little weight to Maxwell’s husband’s involvement in seeking her release from prison, as he refused to come forward at the time of her arrest.
While a friend’s desire to avoid publicity may be understandable, a husband’s desire to distance themselves in that way – especially when combined with the accused’s inconsistent statements about the state of their relationship – undermines her claim that her marriage is a bond that would keep her in the United States, ”the prosecutors wrote.
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