Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers say the financier has long lived with the fear that federal prosecutors might pursue sexual abuse charges against him again — but he still never sought to flee the country.

Key points: In filing for bail, Mr Epstein's lawyers argued for home confinement as well as a mortgage on his Upper East Side mansion as bond

In filing for bail, Mr Epstein's lawyers argued for home confinement as well as a mortgage on his Upper East Side mansion as bond Prosecutors want the financier to be jailed until trial

Prosecutors want the financier to be jailed until trial Arguing against his release, they cited nude pictures of underage girls allegedly found at his home after his arrest

Mr Epstein, 66, is facing charges that he engaged in sex trafficking with dozens of underage girls in Florida and New York from 2002 to 2005.

His lawyers have argued that a non-prosecution agreement made more than a decade ago with federal prosecutors covers the same ground as the new charges.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday following his weekend arrest in the US after returning from France.

Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on sexual abuse charges. ( Reuters: Florida Department of Law Enforcement )

In a filing for bail in federal court, Mr Epstein's lawyers argued that home confinement, along with electronic monitoring, surveillance and a bond secured by a mortgage on his Upper East Side mansion — which they valued at $US77 million ($110 million) — would ensure that he does not flee the country.

They said Mr Epstein had a "spotless 14-year record of walking the straight and narrow" since 2005 and had shown "perfect compliance with onerous sex offender registration requirements", saying Mr Epstein would also de-register his private jet as a condition of his house arrest.

They described prosecutors' demand that Mr Epstein remains in jail until trial as "drastic".

In seeking Mr Epstein's detention, prosecutors cited a trove of what seemed to be nude pictures of underage girls found in his mansion after his arrest on charges that he sexually exploited and abused underage girls.

Epstein feared current 'toxic political climate'

Mr Epstein's lawyers said he always knew federal authorities might renege on a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) signed in 2007, under which Mr Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida, served a 13-month jail sentence and was registered as a sex offender.

"Indeed, Mr Epstein feared the toxic political climate might tempt the government to try and end-run the NPA — yet continually returned home from travel abroad, fully prepared to vindicate his rights under the agreement and otherwise mount a full-throated defence," they wrote.

The lawyers also said Mr Epstein was in "perfect compliance" with sex offender registration requirements.

The defence also gave some insight into arguments they might eventually use at future hearings and at trial, saying that the accusations against Mr Epstein are "outside the margins of federal criminal law" and don't constitute sex trafficking since there were no allegations he "trafficked anybody for commercial profit; that he forced, coerced, defrauded or enslaved anybody."

The indictment filed in New York accuses Mr Epstein of paying underage girls hundreds of dollars in cash for massages and then molesting them at his homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and New York from 2002 through 2005. The charges carry the potential for up to 45 years in prison.

Since the charges were filed, a woman has come forward to say Mr Epstein raped her at his New York mansion when she was 15.

Mr Epstein's attorneys have not responded to that accusation, and the Attorney's Office in Manhattan declined to comment on it.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 54 seconds 54 s US prosecutors allege Jeffrey Epstein lured underage girls for sex acts

A massage therapist who says she travelled to one of Mr Epstein's private Caribbean islands to work dozens of times in the early 2000s told The Associated Press that she saw "nothing out of the ordinary" there.

She said she saw girls there on two occasions: One girl appeared to be 16 or 17 and excitedly rode around the island on an ATV. She glimpsed another girl hurrying from Mr Epstein's house to a nearby cottage.

The woman spoke on condition of being identified only by her initials, HW, because she feared losing business.

HW, who was then in her 50s, said she was never asked to do anything improper and didn't make anything of seeing the girls on Little St James Island, Mr Epstein's main retreat in the US Virgin Islands.

Several employees who worked on Mr Epstein's property have refused to talk because they signed non-disclosure agreements.

Acosta criticised for secret deal

The once-secret agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida has been widely criticised as a sweetheart deal.

Alex Acosta worked on Mr Epstein's case before he became the US Secretary of Labor. ( Reuters: Carlos Barria )

The criticism has fallen heavily on Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who was the US attorney in Miami at the time and played a role in letting Mr Epstein avoid federal prosecution.

His new arrest has drawn attention to his past friendships with powerful people, including Donald Trump before he became President and former president Bill Clinton. Both have recently said they haven't seen Mr Epstein in years and didn't know about any misconduct.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak has also sought to distance himself from Mr Epstein after US tax records emerged that Mr Barak received some $US2 million ($2.87 million) in grants last decade from the Wexner Foundation. At the time of the grants, Mr Epstein was a trustee of the foundation.

In a radio interview, Mr Barak said he met Mr Epstein several times but said he "didn't support me or pay me".

AP/Reuters