Ghislaine Maxwell Married in Secret, Refuses To Identify Spouse: Prosecutors
Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of convicted sex offender and accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is secretly married and refusing to identify her husband, prosecutors said at her bail hearing.
Manhattan prosecutors divulged Maxwell’s secret during her Tuesday hearing while accusing her of hiding the extent of her wealth, the New York Post reported.
“In addition to failing to describe in any way the absence of proposed co-signers of a bond, the defendant also makes no mention whatsoever about the financial circumstances or assets of her spouse whose identity she declined to provide to Pretrial Services,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said during a video conference.
“There’s no information about who will be co-signing this bond or their assets, and no details whatsoever.”
Maxwell’s lawyers have requested that she be released on $5 million bond, but Manhattan federal Judge Alison Nathan sent her back to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, until her trial next July.
Prosecutors told the judge that Maxwell “poses an extreme risk of flight,” according to The Associated Press.
Maxwell is rich, has plenty of international connections, has three passports and has “absolutely no reason to stay in the United States and face the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence,” they wrote.
Nathan agreed and said “no combination of conditions” could ensure Maxwell wouldn’t try to escape, the Post reported.
“The risks are simply too great,” Nathan said.
The jurist added that it was “practically impossible to set financial bail conditions that would reasonably assure her appearance in court” without a clear picture of Maxwell’s finances.
Last summer, Epstein was charged with sex trafficking, but he was found dead in his cell in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center a month after his arrest.
The death was ruled a suicide, although many have expressed doubts about that determination.
After his death, officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York sought to find Maxwell, who is accused of partnering with Epstein to operate a global network that resulted in the sexual abuse of underage girls.
Maxwell was arrested on July 2 for allegedly conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors. Authorities found her at a New Hampshire estate that was paid for by cash through an anonymous LLC last year.
Maxwell faces four counts related to the alleged sex trafficking of minors and two counts of perjury. According to the charges, she was involved in the sexual abuse of at least three girls, including one who was 14 at the time of the alleged abuse.
Annie Farmer, one of Epstein’s accusers, told the judge that she was recruited by Maxwell when she was 16 and sexually abused by Epstein and his alleged madam.
“She is a sexual predator who groomed and abused me,” Farmer said. “She has never shown any remorse for her heinous crimes.”
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