As Ghislaine Maxwell, former associate of disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, filed for bail earlier this month, one alleged victim has claimed that granting that bail may not be a good idea, The Sunday Times reports.
Waiving her right for anonymity, Annie Farmer, 41, who says that "she was ordered to strip naked and had her breasts groped by Maxwell at a remote US ranch owned by Epstein" when she was 16, now argues that Ghislaine may attempt to flee justice if given the opportunity.
"She has lived a life of privilege, abusing her position of power to live beyond the rules," Farmer said. "She will not hesitate to leave the country irrespective of whether others will be on the hook financially for her actions because she lacks empathy and, therefore, simply does not care about hurting others."
Having said "I believe that she is a psychopath" in a statement released by US prosecutors last week, Farmer, a psychologist, argued that Maxwell's abuse of her "and many other children and young women is evidence of her disregard for and violation of the rights of others".
"She was both charming and manipulative with me during the grooming process, consistent with what many of the women she abused have described. She has demonstrated a complete lack of remorse for her central role in procuring girls for Epstein to abuse", she added. "Fleeing the country in order to escape once more would fit with her long history of anti-social behaviour."
The most recent attempt to have Maxwell freed ahead of Christmas involves a $28.5 million bail package which comes with character references from 17 people that portray Ghislaine as “a woman of principle”, someone to be "held... on a pedestal", and an "inspiring" environmental campaigner, the newspaper notes.
A previous attempt to have Maxwell released as part of a $5 million bail package failed, with Judge Alison Nathan rejecting it due to concerns that the Epstein's ex-associate presents a serious flight risk.
Accused of procuring three girls for Epstein between 1994 and 1997 and with six federal charges brought against her - including sex trafficking, enticement of minors, and perjury - Ghislaine Maxwell faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted at a trial scheduled to take place in July 2021; she had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of running a sex-trafficking ring by luring underage girls into his New York and Florida estates to attend sex parties. He was found dead in his cell at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center, with his death being ruled a suicide.