Ghislaine Maxwell denied bail for a FIFTH time as Epstein ‘madam’ still poses flight risk
GHISLAINE Maxwell has been denied bail for a fifth time as a judge said Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged “madam” still poses a flight risk.
A New York judge shut down the British socialite’s latest attempt to be let out of a Brooklyn prison until her trial, which is due to start in November.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a brief order rejecting Maxwell’s latest request on grounds she might abscond.
The appeals court had rejected a bail request once before and her trial judge had thrice said no.
Maxwell, 59, faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted over her alleged role in procuring four underage girls for the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004.
She has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other charges.
A trial in Manhattan is slated for November.
Opening statements are scheduled for late in the month.
Ghislaine Maxwell is subjected to more grueling conditions than any other inmate
David Markus, Maxwell's lawyer
Maxwell’s lawyers have argued she has been mistreated at a federal jail in Brooklyn, though prosecutors dispute the allegations.
They have said she cannot properly prepare for trial because of sleep deprivation, a lack of potable water, a sewage stench in her cell, an inability to meet privately with her lawyers or keep jail guards from reviewing her confidential materials.
Her lawyer David Markus said: “Ghislaine Maxwell is subjected to more grueling conditions than any other inmate.
“This is due to the Epstein effect. Because Epstein died on the jail’s watch, it has decided to torture Ghislaine. That’s wrong.”
Epstein killed himself in a federal Manhattan prison in August 2019 while he awaited a sex trafficking trial.
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Her lawyers have gradually increased the terms of a proposed bail package, saying Maxwell and friends and family would put up $28.5 million (£20m).
They also say Maxwell, a US citizen, would agree to 24-hour armed guards, an electronic bracelet and renounce her citizenship in England and France.
A spokesman for Attorney Audrey Strauss in Manhattan and a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment.
Maxwell’s trial judge, District Judge Alison Nathan, has rejected bail three times, calling Maxwell a significant flight risk.