NEW YORK (NY)
CNN
July 18, 2019
By Erica Orden
A federal judge on Thursday ordered Jeffrey Epstein, who is accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, to remain in jail pending trial, rejecting the multimillionaire’s request to return to his Upper East Side mansion under supervision.
In a court hearing, US District Court Judge Richard Berman described Epstein’s proposed bail package — which would have allowed him to return home accompanied by armed guards and a live-in, court-appointed trustee — as “irretrievably inadequate.” He said Epstein was both a danger to the community and a flight risk.
“Mr. Epstein’s alleged excessive attraction to sexual conduct with or in the presence of minor girls — which is said to include his soliciting and receiving massages from young girls and young women perhaps as many as four times a day,” the judge wrote in a 33-page decision filed with the court, “appears likely to be uncontrollable.”
Among the most important influences in the judge’s decision to deny bail, he wrote, were the victims of Epstein’s alleged crimes, including two who “movingly” testified at one of the bail hearings, telling the court they feared his release would result in their harassment and abuse. “The court is also concerned for new victims,” the judge added.
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