Judge set to decide whether Jeffery Epstein gets bail
A federal judge in New York is set to announce whether financier Jeffrey Epstein will be granted bail while he awaits trial on sex trafficking charges .
The judge's expected decision Thursday comes after prosecutors argued the 66-year-old Epstein should remain jailed 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.
FILE - This July 25, 2013, file image provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows financier Jeffrey Epstein. Federal prosecutors, preparing for a bail fight Monday, July 15, 2019, say evidence against Epstein is growing “stronger by the day” after several more women contacted them in recent days to say he abused them when they were underage. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement via AP, File)
Lawyers for 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.
Courtney Wild, one of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers who spoke at his bail hearing, attends a news conference outside federal court, in New York, Monday, July 15, 2019. Wild said Monday in Manhattan federal court that she was abused by the wealthy financier in Palm Beach, Florida, starting at age 14. (AP PhotoRichard Drew)
In this courtroom artist's sketch, defendant Jeffrey Epstein, left, listens as accuser Annie Farmer, second from right, speaks during a bail hearing in federal court, Monday, July 15, 2019 in New York. Farmer says she was 16 when she "had the misfortune" of meeting Epstein and later went to spend time with him in New Mexico. Accuser Courtney Wild, right, said in the hearing that she was abused by the wealthy financier in Palm Beach, Florida, starting at age 14. Epstein's lawyers want him released on house arrest to his Manhattan home while he awaits trial. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)