Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers offer a $5 million bond so she can wait for trial out of jail
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.
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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."
Epstein's lawyers tried to request he wait for his trial in his Manhattan mansion a year ago this week, albeit on a $77 million bond package. The judge in the case determined Epstein was a danger to the community and denied that request.
