Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein asks to be freed on bail, offers to ground private plane and pay for armed guards

Billionaire fund manager offers New York mansion as collateral, in addition to ‘highly restrictive conditions’ such as GPS ankle bracelet and home confinement

Lawyers argue Epstein’s payment for massages that allegedly led to sex acts was ‘akin to consumer or purchaser behaviour’, not trafficking

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US fund manager Jeffrey Epstein in a photograph taken for the sex offender registry in March 2017. Photo: New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services via Reuters

Published: 2:43am, 12 Jul 2019Updated: 2:43am, 12 Jul 2019

Accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein asked a federal judge to free him ahead of his trial, offering to put up his Manhattan mansion as security, ground his private plane and pay for 24-hour armed guards.

In a 16-page court filing Thursday, lawyers for the 66-year-old fund manager outlined a series of “highly restrictive conditions” that would ensure he does not flee, following his arrest on Saturday on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy.

Under Epstein’s proposal, he would be freed from the Manhattan jail where he’s being held on a “substantial bond” secured by his New York mansion. He also offered to wear a GPS ankle bracelet and be confined to his home.

A release on bail would make it easier for Epstein to coordinate his defence and give him a measure of leverage in negotiating a possible guilty plea with the government. Likewise, his continued detention would give prosecutors a strategic advantage.

A photo taken on Tuesday shows a structure on Little Saint James Island, in the US Virgin Islands, believed to be one of Jeffery Epstein’s residences. Photo: AP'

Epstein was accused on Monday of abusing dozens of girls as young as 14 and has been confined since Saturday night, when he was arrested on returning to New York from Paris in his private plane.