Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell denied bail again

Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of aiding Jeffrey Epstein in his sex trafficking of minors, has been denied bail for the third time.

Maxwell is currently being held in a New York prison as she awaits trial on charges of conspiracy, perjury and enticing minors to travel to participate in illegal sex acts. She has pleaded not guilty, and her trial is expected to begin in July.

Maxwell made her third bid for bail in February, in which she offered to renounce her French and British citizenships to “eliminate any opportunity for her to seek refuge in those countries.”

She also offered to have her assets placed in an account that would be monitored by a retired federal judge to ensure that they wouldn’t be used for flight.

But prosecutors argued in a court filing earlier this month that setting those conditions for Maxwell’s release wouldn’t change the fact that she continued to pose an “extreme risk of flight.” They noted that renouncing her citizenship wouldn’t impact an extradition proceeding to either of those countries.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan sided with prosecutors on Monday, writing in a court filing “the Court concludes that none of the Defendant’s new arguments and proposals disturb its conclusion that the Defendant poses a risk of flight and that there are no combination of conditions that can reasonably assure her appearance.”

Nathan noted that the court’s “assessment” of her risk factors were unchanged, adding that Maxwell “continues to have substantial international ties, familial and personal connections abroad, substantial financial resources, and experience evading detection.”

Maxwell was previously denied bail in July 2020, and later in December 2020. Both times, the court found that she was a flight risk and that no conditions for her release would ensure that she would appear for trial.