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applicable presumption relates to risk of flight, and, as noted, Ms. Maxwell has rebutted that presumption based on her ties to the United States, her decision to remain in this country after Epstein's arrest, and all of the other reasons discussed above. This Court should follow other courts in this Circuit and elsewhere that have found that defendants rebutted the presumption and imposed appropriately strict bail conditions in cases involving alleged offenses against minors. See Deutsch, 2020 WL 3577398, at *5-6; United States v. Veres, No. 3:20-CR-18-J-32JBT, 2020 WL 1042051, at *3-4 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 4, 2020); Conway, 2011 WL 3421321, at *4-5.
The Impact of the Potential Penalties Is Overstated. The government asserts that detention is warranted because of the potential for a long sentence in this case. (Gov. Mem. at 4-5.) This oversimplifies the governing standard. Although the severity of potential punishment is a relevant consideration, the Second Circuit "require[s] more than evidence of the commission of a serious crime and the fact of a potentially long sentence to support a finding of risk of flight." Friedman, 837 F.2d at 49-50 (district court's finding that defendant posed a risk of flight was clearly erroneous, despite potential for "long sentence of incarceration"); see also Sabhnani, 493 F.3d at 65, 76-77 (reversing detention order where defendants agreed to significant physical and financial restrictions, despite the fact that they faced a "lengthy term of incarceration"). Accordingly, the asserted potential for a long sentence does not meet the government's burden of persuasion.14
14 The government relies on United States v. Alindato-Perez, 627 F. Supp. 2d 58, 66 (D.P.R. 2009), cited approvingly by United States v. Moscaritolo, No. 10 Cr. 4 (JL), 2010 WL 309679, at *2 (D.N.H. Jan. 26, 2010) for the proposition that "[t]he steeper the potential sentence, the more probable the flight risk is, especially considering the strong case of the government . . . ." (Gov. Mem. at 5.) But Alindato-Perez is easily distinguished on its facts from Ms. Maxwell's case. Alindato-Perez was a narcotics case that did not involve 20-year old conduct as here, but instead involved a conspiracy that "continu[ed] until the date of the indictment." 627 F. Supp. 2d at 60-61. The evidence included eleven "clearly incriminating video tapes" and testimony from various cooperating witnesses, and the defendant faced a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence. Id. at 61-64. These factors are not present in this case.