Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and ex-girlfriend of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is due to appear at a bail hearing via video link later on Tuesday.
It will determine whether she stays in prison while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking minors for Epstein. Her lawyers have asked for her release on bail of $5m (£4m) because of the risk of getting coronavirus in jail.
“We have not heard much from Ms. Maxwell’s side since her arrest. But in a court filing last week, lawyers for Ms. Maxwell wrote that she “has always vehemently denied that she was involved in illegal or improper conduct related to Epstein.”
“The lawyers sought to distance Ms. Maxwell from Mr. Epstein, and pushed back at the notion that she had been hiding from the authorities. Instead, the lawyers said Ms. Maxwell was trying to protect herself from “unrelenting and intrusive media coverage.” (NYT)
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell ignored the orders of FBI agents during her arrest on sex-trafficking charges, prosecutors said Monday as they urged a U.S. judge to deny her bail request. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York said in a court filing that agents had to breach the front door of the 58-year-old’s home to detain her on July 2.
“Through a window, the agents saw the defendant ignore the direction to open the door and, instead, try to flee to another room in the house, quickly shutting a door behind her,” the prosecution wrote.
The allegation was made in response to Maxwell’s lawyers asking New York Judge Alison Nathan to release their client on bond of $5 million during Tuesday’s bail hearing. She was arrested on 2 July and denies the charges against her. She faces up to 35 years if convicted.
Prosecutors allege that between 1994 and 1997 Ms Maxwell helped Epstein groom girls as young as 14. Epstein died in prison on 10 August as he awaited his trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was determined to be suicide.
Source for rest of the story: The BBC and CBS News and the New York Times and NBC.