Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein denied bail

Convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been was denied bail by a Manhattan federal judge.

“Starting with my conclusions, the government’s application for continued remand is herby granted and the defence’s application for pre-trial release is respectfully hereby denied,” Judge Richard Berman said the start of a hotly anticipated hearing. “The government has established danger to others and to the community by clear and convincing evidence, and the government has established a risk of flight by a preponderance of evidence.”

The New York Post reports that Epstein, 66, had his hands folded on the table in front of him and showed no emotion as Mr Berman announced his ruling.

At one point, Epstein – who wore a dark blue prison outfit and red sneakers – raised a hand to adjust his glasses as Mr Berman summarised the reasons for keeping him locked up in Lower Manhattan’s infamous Metropolitan Correctional Centre.

Mr Berman cited Monday’s “compelling testimony” by accusers Annie Farmer and Courtney Wild, neither of whom were present overnight, as well as “evidence of intimidation and threats, and compensation paid to potential witnesses.”

Mr Berman also said there were questions about whether Epstein “has been compliant in legal obligations as a registered sex offender.”

During Monday’s hearing, the judge had noted a front-page New York Post report about how Epstein never checked in with the NYPD, despite a 2011 order by Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Ruth Pickholz requiring him to do so every 90 days.
 

Epstein, 66, was busted on July 6 in the alleged sexual abuse of dozens of girls as young as 14 in his Upper East Side townhouse in New York and his waterfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005.

He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.

His indictment followed an award-winning series of stories last year by the Miami Herald that revealed how Epstein scored a sweetheart plea bargain in 2008 following similar allegations in Florida.

Terms of that deal also included a non-prosecution agreement with then-Miami US Attorney Alex Acosta, who last week resigned as US President Donald Trump’s secretary of labor amid controversy spurred by Epstein’s latest arrest.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is republished here with permission

Originally published asPaedophile Jeffrey Epstein denied bail