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Home / World

Ghislaine Maxwell 'tried to flee' when FBI arrested her and 'wrapped phone in tin foil to avoid detection'

NZ Herald
13 Jul, 2020 11:38 PM4 mins to read

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New York Southern District Prosecutor Audrey Strauss wants Prince Andrew to speak to them about Ghislaine Maxwell’s "child sex abuse". Video / AP

Detailed claims on how Ghislaine Maxwell tried to hide from the FBI and her bid to escape when she was being arrested have been revealed in court documents.

Prosecutors made the revelation in court papers as they argued there is no reason to free Maxwell on bail as she faces charges for recruiting teenage girls for Jeffery Epstein to sexually abuse in the 1990s.

The British socialite, who is the former girlfriend of Epstein, has been held without bail since her recent arrest at a New Hampshire estate she bought late last year.

Prosecutors argued that she is an "extreme risk of flight", bringing to light claims that she had escaped to another room when FBI agents burst into her New Hampshire mansion and placed her under arrest on July 2.

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"As the agents approached the front door to the main house, they announced themselves as FBI agents and directed the defendant to open the door," the court documents read.

"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.

"Agents were ultimately forced to breach the door in order to enter the house to arrest the defendant, who was found in an interior room in the house."

Ghislaine Maxwell faces charges for recruiting teenage girls for Jeffery Epstein to sexually abuse in the 1990s. Photo / Getty Images
Ghislaine Maxwell faces charges for recruiting teenage girls for Jeffery Epstein to sexually abuse in the 1990s. Photo / Getty Images

An FBI then found a "phone wrapped in tin foil on top of a desk" at the house which they deemed a "seemingly misguided effort to evade detection" by authorities.

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After Maxwell, the daughter of late newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, was arrested the FBI spoke to a security guard who worked on the property who said that her brother had hired him from a company staffed with former British military soldiers.

"The guard informed the FBI that the defendant had not left the property during his time working there, and that instead, the guard was sent to make purchases for the property using the credit card. As these facts make plain, there should be no question that the defendant is skilled at living in hiding," the filing states.

Maxwell's defence lawyers are set to argue that she should be freed on a $7.6 million bail and in return she would be placed in home confinement, have a GPS tracking device and have her passports confiscated.

But prosecutors pointed out that as a French passport holder she could escape to the European country – which has no extradition treaty with the US.

Discover more

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Ghislaine Maxwell has married a secret spouse

15 Jul 05:23 PM
Flags fly in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center. Photo / AP
Flags fly in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center. Photo / AP

"There will be no trial for the victims if the defendant is afforded the opportunity to flee the jurisdiction, and there is every reason to think that is exactly what she will do if she is released," court documents read.

Epstein's victims are adamant that Maxwell should be remanded in custody, saying they were directly abused as a result of her actions.

The document states: "While that conduct did take place a number of years ago, it is unsurprising that the victims have been unable to forget the defendant's predatory conduct after all this time, as traumatic childhood experiences often leave indelible marks.

"The recollections of the victims bear striking resemblances that corroborate each other and provide compelling proof of the defendant's active participation in a disturbing scheme to groom and sexually abuse minor girls."

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo / AP
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo / AP

Maxwell is set to appear in court in New York tomorrow via a video-link from Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Centre, where she is being held.

It has also emerged that she is under investigation by the US Virgin Islands for her alleged participation in Epstein's sex trafficking ring.

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