NY Judge keeps Jeffrey Epstein in jail
Wealthy sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will remain in jail during his prosecution on sex trafficking charges after a federal judge in New York ruled Thursday against his request to be released on bail.
Epstein, 66, had offered to collateralize any of the assets from his self-estimated $559 million fortune. He’d said he would live in isolation in his Manhattan mansion, and pay for private security to ensure he remained inside and that no one entered unless authorized by the courts. But with prosecutors warning that Epstein could easily flee or attempt to interfere with their witnesses, Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Berman ordered Thursday that Epstein remain at the Manhattan Correctional Institute as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York seeks his conviction on child sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. In explaining his ruling, Berman rejected Epstein’s proffered bail conditions as irreparably “inadequate” and in particular cited concerns that Epstein is a danger to others. In issuing his ruling, Berman said he considered the testimony Monday of two women – Courtney Wild and Annie Farmer. Wild, who says she was sexually abused, called him a “scary person” who “should not be walking the streets.” The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions against a network of people and companies allegedly involved in procurements for the Iranian nuclear program.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the network of seven entities and five individuals based in Iran, China, and Belgium were aiming to help Iran “acquire critical nuclear materials and benefit the regime’s malign ambitions.”
The move by the U.S. is the first to target the nuclear program since Iran said this month it would increase enrichment levels.
The announcement about enrichment came as Iran faces crippling U.S. economic sanctions, after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed penalties and restrictions on the country in an effort to change its foreign policy.