Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers offer a $5 million bond so she can wait for trial out of jail

(Image credit: Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

last updated 10 July 2020

Ghislaine Maxwell is making the same request Jeffrey Epstein did exactly a year ago.

Maxwell, a close friend of Epstein's accused of grooming young girls for his sex trafficking ring, requested through her lawyers Friday that she be allowed to wait out her day in court outside of jail. Maxwell's lawyers offered a $5 million bond secured by six co-signers, as well as property in the U.K. worth $3.5 million, to secure her release, NBC News reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

COVID-19 is both spreading through jails and putting limitations on who can visit them, leading to Maxwell's request for bond. "COVID-19-related restrictions on attorney communications with pre-trial detainees significantly impair a defendant's ability to prepare her defense," her lawyers said in their proposed bail agreement. Prosecutors meanwhile argued Maxwell is an "extreme" flight risk due to her "three passports, large sums of money, [and] extensive international connections."

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox