Jeffrey Epstein: Paedophile financier offers private jet and mansion to avoid pre-trial jail

Prosecutors say 66-year-old is 'extraordinary' flight risk

Lawyers for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein have offered his $77m mansion and private jet as part of a bail package to avoid him having to spend time in jail ahead of his trial on sex-trafficking charges.

Earlier this week, prosecutors brought the 66-year-old to court and charged him with two counts of sex trafficking, and said he had preyed on dozens of girls in New York and Florida.

The former hedge fund manager pleaded not guilty, and his legal team sought to ensure he was released on bail, something the court rejected.

On Thursday, lawyers for the man who once counted Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew among his friends and associates, returned to court with a proposed bond package totalling more than $77m.

His lawyers proposed that his New York mansion, said to be worth $77m, could be offered as bond, as could his private jet. Epstein, who in 2008 pleaded guilty to single charge of sex with a minor as part of a controversial plea deal, also owns a private island.

“The government seeks to remand a self-made New York native and lifelong American resident based on dated allegations for which he was already convicted and punished,” Epstein’s lawyers wrote, according to NBC News.

His lawyers also proposed he hire a team of private security guards to ensure he did not flee.

They said in order to be able to stay in his Upper East Side home while awaiting trial, he would also agree to electronic monitoring and hand over his passport.

The Associated Press said his lawyers told the court he feared a “toxic political climate” might cause federal prosecutors to scrap a deal he made with them over a decade ago and charge him again with sexual abuse charges involving underage girls. They also attacked the prosecution’s case against their client.

On Monday, federal prosecutors said they would oppose Epstein’s release on bail, saying he posed an “extraordinary risk of flight” because of his wealth, private planes and significant international ties.