Ghislaine Maxwell has been denied bail and will spend the next 12 months in prison awaiting trial.
At a court hearing via video link on Tuesday, Judge Alison Nathan rejected Maxwell's request for bail, explaining that the 58-year-old socialite's financial circumstances - along with her three passports - made her a "substantial flight risk".
"No combination of conditions could reasonably assure her presence at court, the risk is simply too great. The defendant is hereby ordered to be detained pending trial," she ruled.
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Maxwell was arrested earlier this month in connection with Jeffrey Epstein
It is reported that the British socialite cried and hung her head at the decision, which will see her spend a year at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, as the trial is not due to begin until July 2021.
Maxwell's lawyer, Mark Cohen, has insisted his client is not a risk and "not the monster portrayed by media reports". Lawyers had asked for her release on a bail of $5m (£4m), hoping she would be able to spend the next year at a hotel along with electronic tagging.
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It comes after prosecutors revealed more details surrounding the arrest of Jeffrey Epstein's former associate, who was detained earlier this month in New Hampshire.
Revealing details about her arrest at the New Hampshire estate on 2nd July, prosecutors claim that Maxwell refused to open the door when they asked her to.
"Through a window, the agents saw the defendant ignore the direction to open the door and, instead, try to flee to another room in the house, quickly shutting a door behind her," they said.
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Quickly, agents broke down the door in order to arrest Maxwell, with lawyers explaining the 58-year-old socialite was an "extraordinary" risk as she is "skilled at living in hiding".
They also found a mobile phone wrapped in tin foil. They described this as "a seemingly misguided effort to evade detection, not by the press or public, which of course would have no ability to trace her phone or intercept her communications, but by law enforcement".
Prosecutors have argued Maxwell - who has pleaded not guilty - was a key part of facilitating Epstein's horrendous crimes. They say she contributed to the "sexual exploitation that caused deep and lasting harm to vulnerable victims".
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She has been charged with conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
At the hearing yesterday, statements by two women who have accused Maxwell of enabling their abuse were read.
One of the women, Annie Farmer, said of Maxwell: "She is a sexual predator who groomed and abused me and other young women. She has lied under oath and tormented her survivors. She has demonstrated contempt for our legal system by perjury."
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Maxwell "vigorously denies the charges" and "intends to fight them".
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, News