Ghislaine Maxwell appeared via video link during her trial where she was denied bail for her role that helped Jeffrey Epstein recruit and eventually abuse underage girls, in Federal Court in Manhattan, on July 14, 2020 in this sketch of the courtroom .
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
A federal judge on Monday for the second time this year denied bail to Ghislaine Maxwell, the wealthy British socialite accused of caring for underage girls by money manager Jeffrey Epstein.
Judge Alison Nathan, just when she was denied bail for the first time in July, found that Maxwell posed a serious flight risk, given her wealth, possession of citizenship in several countries and the seriousness of the charges she faces.
The denial came three days after Maxwell celebrated her 59th birthday on Christmas Day in a federal jail in Brooklyn.
In her most recent bail application, Maxwell asked to release a $ 22.5 million personal recognition bond, promising millions of dollars by seven family members and friends.
She also suggested that armed guards ensure that she remains confined to a New York City residence and that she should be monitored with an electronic device.
Prosecutors vehemently opposed the request, and Nathan agreed with them in her order issued Monday in federal court in Manhattan.
“The court finds that the accused’s proposed bail conditions would not reasonably ensure that she would appear at future proceedings,” Nathan wrote in the verdict.
“The Court concludes that none of the new information presented by the defendant in support of her application is materially related to the court’s decision that she posed a flight risk.”
Maxwell, who was arrested in New Hampshire on July 2, pleaded not guilty in the case.
In addition to the charges related to the recruitment and care of several underage girls for her ex-boyfriend Epstein in the nineties, Maxwell is also charged with perjury for allegedly lying during a deposit for a case brought by an accused of Epstein was filed.
She is due to be tried next year.
Epstein, 66, died in August 2019 in a federal jail in Manhattan of what authorities ruled he was a suicide by hanging.
At the time of his death, Epstein was detained without charge.
A former friend of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, Epstein had earlier pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida involving the payment of a minor girl for sexual services.
He served 13 months in prison in that case, but he was left out much of the time with the release of the job.