American financier Jeffrey Epstein will remain behind bars while he awaits trial on charges of sex trafficking dozens of underage girls, a U.S. judge ruled on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman announced his decision at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan, rejecting Epstein's request to stay under house arrest in his New York mansion valued at $77 million. Epstein has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors had argued that Epstein should remain jailed both because he posed a danger to the community and because there was a high risk he would use his vast wealth to flee the country.