Ghislaine Maxwell denied £21.2 million bail package

29 December 2020, 08:32 | Updated: 29 December 2020, 08:37

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, has been denied a $28.5 million (£21.2 million) proposed bail package
Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, has been denied a $28.5 million (£21.2 million) proposed bail package. Picture: PA

By Kate Buck

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, has been denied a $28.5 million (£21.2 million) proposed bail package.

US District Judge Alison J Nathan said Maxwell's imprisonment is necessary to ensure she faces trial on charges she recruited teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.

Ms Nathan did not immediately release an opinion explaining her reasoning, to allow defence lawyers and prosecutors to propose redactions.

Maxwell, the 59-year-old daughter of late press baron and MP Robert Maxwell, was arrested in early July and her first attempt at bail shortly after was also rejected.

She has remained at a federal jail in Brooklyn since Judge Nathan said there were no bail conditions that would ensure she would not flee.

The Metropolitan Detention Center where Ghislaine Maxwell is being held in the Brooklyn borough of New York
The Metropolitan Detention Center where Ghislaine Maxwell is being held in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Picture: PA

Maxwell's lawyers recently offered the new bail package, saying she and her husband were offering all of their wealth - 22.5 million dollars - and millions more in the assets of friends and family to secure bail. Maxwell's husband has not been publicly identified.

Her lawyers said Maxwell would remain in a New York City residence under 24-hour guard and would submit to electronic monitoring if the judge accepted the bail package.

They had complained that Maxwell was being mistreated by guards who wake her every 15 minutes at night and subject her to repeated unnecessary searches while failing to adequately protect her from an outbreak of Covid-19 at the prison.

Prosecutors said Maxwell still had access to significant wealth and was a high risk to flee because of her connections abroad - in addition to US citizenship, she holds citizenship in her native UK and France.

She has been charged with recruiting three teenagers as young as 14 for Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 1997, and has also been accused of sometimes participating in the abuse. She pleaded not guilty to an indictment.

Epstein killed himself in August 2019 at a Manhattan federal prison as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.

Listen & subscribe to Hunting Ghislaine: Global Player | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida, left, and Honda President Toshihiro Mibe attend a joint news conference in Tokyo

Japanese car giants Honda and Nissan announce merger plans

APTOPIX Brazil Santa Claus Amazon

Santa braves sticky heat of Amazon jungle to bring gifts to children

UnitedHealthcare CEO Killed

Man accused of UnitedHealthcare chief executive’s death to face New York court

Subway Burning

New York City police make arrest after grim death of woman lit on fire on subway

Police carry out an investigation by houses that were hit by a plane in Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

10 killed as small plane crashes in Brazilian town popular with tourists

The sun shines on to Vasquez Cirque, new terrain for Winter Park Resort, Winter Park, Colorado

174 skiers and snowboarders rescued after ski lift in Colorado cracks

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona

Trump threatens to try to take back Panama Canal

Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, in a scene from Sonic The Hedgehog 3

Sonic 3 speeds past Mufasa: The Lion King at box office

People admire the 18th century Trevi Fountain, one of Rome’s most famous landmarks, as it reopens to the public after undergoing maintenance

Rome’s Trevi Fountain reopens after renovation work

A couple embrace in front of a sea of flowers outside a church

What is known about the German Christmas market attack and its impact

The Corridoio Vasariano or Vasari Corridor in Florence, central Italy

Secret Florence passage that Medici family used to move safely reopens to public

Debris on the ground after helicopter crash, with people looking on

Four killed as helicopter ambulance crashes on take-off in Turkey

People walking amongst rubbled and the remains of homes

Five children among 22 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

Police officer at cordon beside Christmas market stalls

German authorities were warned about Christmas market attack suspect last year

Pope Francis on large screen in front of faithful in St Peter's Square

Pope in plea for ceasefires to end ‘cruelty’ of conflicts around the world

Man checking wiring outside damaged high-rise building

Russian fuel depot hit by Ukrainian drones for second time