A federal judge ordered Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, held without bond Tuesday after the British socialite pleaded not guilty to charges that …
A federal judge ordered Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, held without bond Tuesday after the British socialite pleaded not guilty to charges that she helped procure young victims for the disgraced financier’s child sex trafficking operation that began more than 25 years ago.
U. S. District Judge Alison Nathan said Maxwell posed «a substantial risk of flight» given her considerable wealth, international connections and the charges against her, noting that she faced a maximum of 35 years in prison, if convicted.
Even electronic monitoring and the posting of private security guards would be «insufficient,» Nathan said. «The risk of flight is too great.»
Nathan set a trial date of July 12, 2021, meaning that Maxwell is likely to spend at least the next year in a New York federal detention center.
Maxwell’s arraignment in a Manhattan federal court, staged by video conference amid the threat of the persistent coronavirus, marked her first formal response to the criminal charges lodged against her this month.
Assistant U. S. Attorney Alison Moe argued that at the time of her arrest Maxwell was «living in hiding» on a large estate in New Hampshire, posing «serious concerns that the defendant would flee if afforded the opportunity.
