Ghislaine Maxwell’s husband calls her ‘wonderful and loving ’ as they seek $28.5m bail package

‘I have never witnessed anything close to inappropriate with Ghislaine,’ spouse writes in letter

Ghislaine Maxwell has been accused of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual exploitation of underage girls (Chris Ison/PA)

Ghislaine Maxwell is a “wonderful and loving person," her husband has said as he asked a judge to free her to await trial under a $28.5m (£21.4m) bail package that would include armed guards and an electronic tag to ensure she did not leave her residence in New York City.

Ms Maxwell, 68, a friend of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is charged with six counts of recruiting and grooming girls and young women who allege they were sexually abused by her and Epstein.

Her lawyers say she and her spouse, with whom she has been living for much of the last four years, were offering a bail package partially consisting of a $22.5m (£16.9m) bond representing the couple’s net worth, including three homes. Most of the remaining bail will come from friends and family.

“I have never witnessed anything close to inappropriate with Ghislaine,” Ms Maxwell’s husband wrote. “Quite to the contrary, the Ghislaine I know is a wonderful and loving person.”

While her husband was not identified in court papers, he is widely reported to be tech CEO Scott Borgerson. A financial report says the couple were married in 2016 and that Ms Maxwell placed the majority of the $20.2m (£15.4m) she had in assets in 2015 into a trust controlled by her spouse. It said the assets, of which $16m (£12m) were in cash or equities, were worth $22.5m on 31 October.

The letter goes on to report say Ms Maxwell did not  leave her family home and drop out of public view because she was evading the law, but because of "the intense media frenzy and threats following the arrest and death of Jeffrey Epstein."

Epstein killed himself in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

"Ms Maxwell vehemently maintains her innocence and is committed to defending herself," her lawyers wrote. "She wants nothing more than to remain in this country to fight the allegations against her, which are based on the uncorroborated testimony of a handful of witnesses about events that took place over 25 years ago." 

A spokesperson for prosecutors declined to comment when approached by the Associated Press.

Additional reporting by agencies