Court Battles

Prosecutors ask judge for Friday court date for Ghislaine Maxwell

Prosecutors have asked a judge to schedule a Friday court date for Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and longtime associate of disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Maxwell was arrested in Bradford, N.H., last week on charges related to Epstein’s case.

Prosecutors said in a letter to a judge Sunday that they have communicated with Maxwell’s defense lawyer, Christian Everdell, who would like a Friday bail hearing, The Associated Press reported. 

Everdell was not immediately available for comment when contacted by The Hill. 

Maxwell has been detained without bail after agreeing to be moved to New York and has been labeled an “extreme risk of flight” by prosecutors, according to the AP. 

Maxwell is charged with four counts of conspiring to “entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts” from 1994 to 1997 and two counts of perjury for allegedly making false statements to prosecutors. Authorities said the victims were as young as 14 years old. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said at a press conference last week that Maxwell “played a critical role” in finding victims for Epstein. 

“Maxwell lied because the truth, as alleged, was almost unspeakable,” she added, referring to the perjury charges.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges that he abused and trafficked women and girls in Manhattan and Florida between 2002 and 2005. 

Epstein pleaded not guilty and later killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell in August after he was denied bail.