NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge said he will probably decide
on Thursday whether Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier charged
with sex trafficking underage girls, should remain in jail while
awaiting trial or be allowed to live under house arrest at his
Manhattan mansion.
At a hearing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in
Manhattan said he will probably announce his decision on July 18 at
9;30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT), saying he needs more time to absorb
materials that have been submitted.
He noted that several people who said they are among Epstein’s
victims and opposed bail were in attendance, and that they may
speak at the hearing.
Epstein, 66, was arrested on July 6 after flying into New
Jersey’s Teterboro Airport by private plane from Paris.
He has pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Metropolitan
Correctional Center, a fortress-like jail in lower Manhattan that
has been criticized by inmates and lawyers for harsh
conditions.
Epstein, who was once known for socializing with politicians and
royalty, is accused of arranging for girls under the age of 18 to
perform nude “massages” and other sex acts, and of paying some
girls to recruit others, from at least 2002 to 2005.
Prosecutors said a search of Epstein’s home uncovered nude
images of underage girls, and they accused him of paying two
potential witnesses against him last year in an apparent effort to
influence them.
He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Seeking their client’s release from pre-trial detention,
Epstein’s lawyers have said he is willing to pay for armed guards
to monitor him round-the-clock at his Upper East Side home, which
has been valued at $77 million.
In a court filing last week, the lawyers said Epstein has had a
“spotless 14-year record of walking the straight and narrow” since
he pleaded guilty to similar offenses in Florida, and had shown
“perfect compliance with onerous sex offender registration
requirements.”
Federal prosecutors have argued that Epstein must remain in jail
to prevent him from fleeing the country, citing his wealth and
connections overseas, as well as the allegations he made large
payments to potential witnesses.
In 2016, Berman rejected a bail proposal from Turkish-Iranian
gold trader Reza Zarrab that would have let him remain in a leased
apartment under the watch of privately funded guards, saying
wealthy defendants should not be allowed to “buy their way out of
prison by constructing their own private jail.”
Other New York federal judges, however, have agreed to such
arrangements, including for Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff.
When Epstein was charged in Florida, he reached a deal to avoid
federal prosecution by pleading guilty to a state prostitution
charge and registering as a sex offender.
He served 13 months in a county jail, but was allowed to leave
during the day to go to his office.
That 2007 agreement has drawn heavy criticism. A federal judge
ruled in February that it violated a federal law on crime victims’
rights, but Florida prosecutors have argued it should nonetheless
remain in place.
Alex Acosta, who oversaw the deal as U.S. Attorney for the
Southern District of Florida, went on to be appointed Secretary of
Labor by President Donald Trump.
Acosta resigned from that position on Friday, saying he did not
want to be a distraction for the White House.
Subscribe ToNairalaw News!
Read more judge-says-he-will-probably-decide-thursday-on-financier-epsteins-bail-request/
Nigerian Military Possesses Sophisticated Drones The attention
of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a video clip-containing
photograph of an alleged Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) bought by
the Nigerian military. The clip was produced, uploaded by one Media
TV on its YouTube channel, and circulated through whatsApp and
other social media platforms. In it, […]
The post Nigerian Military Possesses Sophisticated
Drones appeared first from online sources and was reposted by the community on PRNigeria News and
Naija News.
