NEW YORK (AP) – A federal judge has denied bail for jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.
The judge’s decision Thursday comes after prosecutors argued Epstein should remain behind bars in New York City because he has the means to flee and is a danger to the public.
Prosecutors fear Epstein also might try to influence a growing number of witnesses who support charges that he recruited and abused dozens of girls in New York and Florida in the early 2000s. Two accusers urged his detention during a Monday hearing.
Lawyers for the 66-year-old Epstein say he wouldn’t run and would be willing to pledge a fortune of at least $559 million as collateral.
They say he should await trial under house arrest in his $77 million Manhattan mansion.