Jeffrey Epstein in New York City in 2005. (Neil Rasmus/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images/JTA)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Jeffrey Epstein was denied bail on sex trafficking charges.
A Manhattan federal judge, Richard Berman, said in his ruling Thursday that the 66-year-old financier poses a danger to former victims and potential new ones.
In 2008, Epstein was convicted of abusing dozens of underage girls, but was given what was generally considered a lenient sentence — 13 months in a private wing of a county jail. He was allowed to leave for work six days a week as long as he returned to the facility at night. Epstein, who is Jewish, and his associates were given immunity from federal prosecution.
That agreement has come under scrutiny following Epstein’s arrest and indictment for sex trafficking.
In February, a judge ruled the 2008 deal illegal because the his victims were not notified before the agreement was approved. The case was reopened after a Miami Herald reporter identified some 80 alleged victims who said they were recruited into a sex ring run by Epstein and made to recruit others.
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