Document 11262

combination of conditions can ensure her appearance. This is so because: the charges, which carry a presumption of detention, are serious and carry lengthy terms of imprisonment if convicted; the evidence proffered by the Government, including multiple corroborating and corroborated witnesses, is strong; the Defendant has substantial resources and foreign ties (including citizenship in a country that does not extradite its citizens); and the Defendant, who lived in hiding and apart from the family to whom she now asserts important ties, has not been fully candid about her financial situation. Thus, for substantially the same reasons that the Court denied the Defendant's first motion for release on July 14, 2020, the Court DENIES the Defendant's renewed motion for release on bail.1 I. Background On June 29, 2020, a grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned a six-count Indictment against the Defendant, charging her with facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of multiple minor victims between approximately 1994 and 1997. See Dkt. No. 1. On July 2, 2020, the Indictment was unsealed, and that same day, the Defendant was arrested in New Hampshire. On July 8, 2020, the Government filed a Superseding Indictment, which contained only small ministerial corrections. Dkt. No. 17. On July 14, 2020, this Court held a hearing regarding the Defendant's request for bail. After a thorough consideration of all of the Defendant's arguments and of the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g), the Court concluded that no conditions or combination of conditions could reasonably assure the Defendant's appearance, determining as a result that the Defendant was a flight risk and that detention without bail was warranted under 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e)(1). The 1 This Opinion & Order will be temporarily sealed in order to allow the parties to propose redactions to sensitive or confidential information. 2 DOJ-OGR-00020129 --- PAGE BREAK --- Defendant did not appeal the Court's determination that detention was required, and she has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center since that time. II. Legal Standard Pretrial detainees have a right to bail under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the imposition of "[e]xcessive bail," and under the Bail Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3141, et seq. The Bail Reform Act requires the Court to release a defendant "subject to the least restrictive further condition, or combination of conditions, that [it] determines will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community." 18 U.S.C. § 3142(c)(1)(B). Only if, after considering the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g), the Court concludes that "no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community," may the Court order that the defendant be held without bail. 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e)(1). If there is probable cause to find that the defendant committed an offense specifically enumerated in § 3142(e)(3), a rebuttable presumption arises "that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure" the defendant's appearance or the safety of the community or others. 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e)(3). In such circumstances, "the defendant 'bears a limited burden of production . . . to rebut that presumption by coming forward with evidence that he does not pose a danger to the community or a risk of flight.'" United States v. English, 629 F.3d 311, 319 (2d Cir. 2011) (quoting United States v. Mercedes, 254 F.3d 433, 436 (2d Cir. 2001)); see also United States v. Rodriguez, 950 F.2d 85, 88 (2d Cir. 1991) ("[A] defendant must introduce some evidence contrary to the presumed fact in order to rebut the presumption.") Nonetheless, "'the government retains the ultimate burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence that the --- PAGE BREAK --- counsel, medical visits, and upon approval by the Court or Pretrial Services. Id. at 2 3. Furthermore, the Defendant would have on-premises security guards that she would pay for who would prevent her from leaving the residence at any time without prior approval by the Court or Pretrial Services and who would escort her when she is authorized to leave. Id. at 3. The motion also presents new information that, according to the Defendant, addresses the concerns that the Court articulated when it determined that detention was warranted. This newly presented information, most of which was available to the Defendant at the time of the initial bail hearing, includes evidence of the Defendant's family ties in the United States, see Def. Mot. at 10 14; a detailed financial report that provides a more comprehensive outlook on the Defendant's financial conditions and assets, see id. at 15–18; evidence that according to her rebuts the Government's original contention that she attempted to evade law enforcement prior to her arrest, see id. at 18–25; waivers of her right to contest extradition from the United Kingdom and France, along with expert opinions claiming that the Defendant would not be able to resist extradition if she were to execute the waivers, see id. at 25–29; and evidence that she argues lays bare the weakness of the Government's case against her, see id. at 30–34. Finally, the Defendant argues that the conditions of her confinement, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, present an additional factor favoring release. She claims that the conditions imposed are punitive and that those conditions interfere with her ability to participate in her defense, and she asserts that these factors further militate in favor of release. See id. at 34 38. Having carefully considered all of the Defendant's arguments, the Court again concludes that no conditions or combination of conditions could reasonably assure her appearance and that