Ghislaine Maxwell could be locked up in same prison where Epstein killed himself after brief first court appearance
JEFFREY Epstein’s alleged “madam” Ghislaine Maxwell could be locked up in the same jail where the disgraced billionaire killed himself.
On Thursday, Maxwell, 58, faced a New York City judge remotely after prosecutors accused her of building a rapport with girls as young as 14 before allegedly helping Epstein to sexually exploit them.
On Thursday, Maxwell was arrested in New Hampshire for allegedly luring girls as young as 14 years old to a number of Epstein‘s residences – including his mansions in New York City and Florida.
She briefly appeared at the Removal Hearing via video conference along with her her attorney Mr Vogelman shortly after 3.30 pm in Manhattan after some tech issues.
But the US government fear she is “an extreme flight risk” meaning she could be denied bail, according to court filings.
Maxwell will either be held overnight in a local New Hampshire jail or transported immediately back to the Big Apple unless the judge there releases her on bail.
If she’s brought to New York, she would be transferred to either the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Lower Manhattan or the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Bloomberg reported, citing legal experts.
The MCC is where Epstein was found hanging in his cell ahead of his sex-trafficking trial.
On July 8, 2019, he was charged with the sex trafficking of minors in the same SDNY court Maxwell faced today.
Epstein’s alleged pimp told District Judge Alison J. Nathan she understand she had waived her right to an in person hearing after consenting to the video conference, which last around 20 minutes.
Nathan told Maxwell she would be temporarily detained and “transported to the charging district” – the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) – where hearings would begin accordingly.
“You’re remanded to the custody of the United States Marshall,” Nathan concluded.
“The Government respectfully submits that Ghislaine Maxwell, the defendant, poses an extreme risk of flight,” the prosecution’s legal memorandum read.
“[T]hat she will not be able to rebut the statutory presumption that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required.
“A finding of risk of flight must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence.”
Maxwell was charged with enticing a minor to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit both of those offenses, and perjury in connection with a sworn deposition.
Prosecutors said because Maxwell’s alleged crimes involved minors, “no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of the community” when it came to bail.
Speaking at the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan earlier on Thursday, prosecutor Audrey Strauss described the “unspeakable truth” and role Maxwell allegedly played in recruiting underage girls for Epstein during an explosive press briefing.
She acknowledged concerns for Maxwell’s safety once she’s behind bars, saying “we are sensitive to that concern and certainly we’ll be in dialogue with the Bureau of Prisons about it” three hours before her court appearance.
But Strauss also told reporters how Maxwell would “befriend young girls” as part of her alleged grooming process.
The attorney described how the alleged madam would take them to the movies, ask about their families, and “develop a rapport with them.”
“She pretended to be a woman they could trust,” Strauss said during the NYC conference, which was also attended by William Sweeney, assistant director of the FBI‘s NY office, and NYPD Commission Dermot Shea.
During the explosive Q&A portion of the briefing, Strauss told journalists that investigators would “welcome” Prince Andrew – who was a friend of Epstein’s – coming in for a chat with cops.
Strauss also told reporters “we would welcome Prince Andrew coming in to talk with us to have the benefit of his statement.”
The accusations against Maxwell were laid out in a federal filing which was unsealed earlier this morning.
“In particular, from at least or about 1994, up to and including at least in or about 1997, Maxwell assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18,” it read.
After grooming the young girls in the ways laid out by Strauss, Maxwell then encouraged them to give Epstein massages when they were fully or partially nude, as per the indictment.
Those massages occasionally developed into sexual encounters, some of which Maxwell took part in, the document alleged.
Dozens of women have claimed Maxwell recruited them when they were underage or very young to act as Epstein’s sexual servants.
It’s also claimed she introduced Prince Andrew to “sex slave” Virginia Roberts, who now goes by the surname Giuffre, when the woman was a teenager.
The prince vehemently denied the allegations, which were made in a 2015 lawsuit tied to a defamation case involving Giuffre.
Maxwell has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and until today the accusations hadn’t resulted in criminal charges.
Maxwell is the youngest child of disgraced media tycoon and British publisher Robert Maxwell.
She moved to New York in 1991 after her father’s death and dated Epstein a year later, but remained close with him for decades after their breakup.
MOST READ IN NEWS
The socialite first vanished when prosecutors began re-examining hundreds of criminal complaints against her former boyfriend in fall 2016.
In a 2015 statement, she rejected allegations of her acting as Epstein’s procurer.
“The allegations made against Ghislaine Maxwell are untrue,” Maxwell’s spokesperson said, adding that she “strongly denies” the “defamatory claims.”