Jeffrey Epstein Denied Bail, Will Stay In NYC Jail

NEW YORK — A federal judge denied Jeffrey Epstein bail on Thursday, ensuring the wealthy financier will remain behind bars as he awaits trial on sex-trafficking charges.

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman rejected a request from Epstein's lawyers to let him stay under supervision in his sprawling Upper East Side mansion, where federal prosecutors allege that he sexually abused several teenage girls.

Epstein will instead stay locked up at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, according to a spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office. The federal jail has also hosted high-profile convicts such as former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Epstein has pleaded not guilty to charges that he sexually assaulted teen girls for years at his New York and Florida homes, paid them hundreds of dollars and got his victims to recruit others for his abuse. He is due back in court July 31.

Federal prosecutors had argued that Epstein remained dangerous and could flee the area because of his immense wealth, frequent travel and access to transportation.

In addition to a trove of nude and partially nude photos of girls, authorities searching Epstein's East 71st Street house found loose diamonds, more than $70,000 in cash and a Saudi Arabian passport with a fake name in a locked safe, prosecutors said earlier this week.

Epstein's lawyers argued that he should be allowed to stay at home under strict surveillance and offered a mortgage on his Manhattan mansion as collateral for his release. The Saudi passport was given to Epstein by a friend and he never used it for international travel, his lawyers said in a court filing.

An investigation by the Miami Herald identified about 80 women whom Epstein allegedly abused or molested from 2001 to 2006. Epstein pleaded guilty to two Florida state prostitution charges in 2008 in a deal in which then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, President Donald Trump's former labor secretary, agreed not to prosecute him.

Epstein reportedly served 13 months in prison on those charges but was allowed to work out of an office as many as six days a week. A lawyer for one of his accusers alleged Tuesday that Epstein had women flown to him for sexual encounters while he was on that so-called work release program, according to news reports.

Another attorney representing three Epstein accusers praised the judge's decision to keep him locked up in New York.

"It gives us hope that justice may truly be possible against this sex offender who has hurt so many for so long," the attorney, Lisa Bloom, said in a statement posted to Twitter.