The Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell rejected all allegations at her first hearing and pleaded "not guilty".
Ghislaine Maxwell (58), the former confidante of the late Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019), pleaded "not guilty" at her first hearing in New York. The US tabloid "New York Post" reports. The main trial was scheduled to begin on July 12, 2021. So far, no decision has been made as to whether Maxwell will be released on bail.
Maxwell's team of lawyers applied for the 58-year-old's release last week. The offer: a deposit of five million dollars (around 4.4 million euros). In addition, she had agreed to be placed under house arrest with GPS monitoring. The prosecutors have so far refused to bail because the risk of flight is too high.
She pretended to be a journalist
Maxwell was arrested by the FBI on July 2 in New Hampshire and has since been imprisoned in New York. Maxwell was connected to the hearing by video. Before that, she was submerged for several months. The 58-year-old is said to have pretended to be a journalist when she bought the over one million expensive property in New Hampshire, where Maxwell was last hiding. According to the prosecutor, she used the alias Jen Marshall.
Maxwell is on six charges so far. The 58-year-old is accused of helping Epstein abuse underage girls. She is said to have made friends with the girls and urged them to engage in sexual acts with Epstein. In several cases, she is said to have been involved in the abuse herself. In addition, her perjury is accused of two cases.