Maxwell’s Covid-19 jail fears
Ghislaine Maxwell, the long-time associate of late financier Jeffrey Epstein, yesterday forcefully denied charges she lured underage girls for him to sexually abuse and said she deserves bail, citing the risk she might contract coronavirus in jail.
Maxwell, 58, filed her request in the United States District Court in Manhattan eight days after being arrested in New Hampshire, where authorities said she had been hiding at a sprawling property she bought while shielding her identity.
Maxwell has been housed since Monday at the Metropolitan Detention Centre, a Brooklyn jail.
She said her detention there put her at “significant risk” of contracting coronavirus, after 55 inmates and staff had tested positive for Covid-19 up to June 30.
Maxwell faces six criminal charges, including four related to transporting minors for illegal sexual acts, and two for perjury in depositions about her role in Epstein’s abuses.
In yesterday’s filing, Maxwell said she “vigorously denies the charges” and intends to fight them. Her arraignment is on Wednesday and prosecutors want her detained until trial.
Maxwell’s proposed bail package includes a US$5 million ($7.6m) bond, the surrender of her passports, “stringent” travel restrictions, and home detention with electronic monitoring. She said she would continue needing security guards to ensure her safety.
Maxwell also maintained she was not a flight risk, claiming to have remained in the US since Epstein’s arrest. She “did not flee, but rather left the public eye, for the understandable purpose of protecting herself from the crush of media and online attention,” the filing said.