Ghislaine Maxwell pleads not guilty, denied bail in trafficking case
Ghislaine Maxwell, a friend of late financier Jeffrey
Epstein, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a New York court to charges she
conspired to traffic minors.
During her appearance by video at a Manhattan federal
courthouse, the British socialite denied that she helped Epstein sexually
exploit and abuse multiple minor girls as young as 14 from 1994 to 1997.
Maxwell, 58, faces eight counts, including conspiracy to
entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to
travel to engage in illegal sexual acts, conspiracy to transport minors with
intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with
intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and perjury.
Prosecutors said Maxwell used her position as a trusted
adult to locate and "groom" underage girls for Epstein, gaining their
trust by taking them to movies and on shopping trips and urging them to accept
gifts from the powerful financier.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said Maxwell posed "a
substantial risk of flight" and ordered her held without bond. Trial was
set for July 12, 2021.
Maxwell's lawyers asked the judge to release her from the
Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on a $5 million bond. Prosecutors
said her wealth and dozens of overseas bank accounts make her an
"extreme" flight risk. They asked that she be held without bail.
Law enforcement officials arrested Maxwell on July 2 at her
New Hampshire home.
Epstein, who was convicted of trafficking underage girls in
Florida, was accused of procuring teen girls for sex with wealthy and powerful
men in New York and on private estates in New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.
Epstein killed himself in his New York federal detention center jail cell in
August after pleading not guilty.
Maxwell is the daughter of the late British media magnate
Robert Maxwell and was frequently seen at Epstein's side in a high-profile
social life among leading figures from the worlds of politics and the arts.
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