The temporary fate of Jeffrey Epstein was decided today, when a federal judge in New York denied his request for bail, as he awaits trial for sex trafficking charges.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman denied Jeffrey Epstein’s request for bail today after prosecutors argued he is a danger to the public and might flee the country.

“Only by taking away the freedom of Jeffrey Epstein can we restore the freedom of these victims. They have been living in fear and intimidation since the day they were abused by him, and now he is in jail. We thank everyone for their efforts in helping us get to this day. Thank you very much,” Sigrid McCauley, an attorney for some of Epstein’s accusers, said in a press conference after the announcement.

Epstein’s lawyers requested that he be allowed to wait for trial under house arrest at his multi-million-dollar mansion in Manhattan, where he would pay for the cost of security. However, many accused Epstein of trying to buy his way out of jail with the request.

In their argument about why Epstein should be forced to stay in jail, prosecutors said they were concerned he may try to retaliate against his accusers.

They also claimed that late last year, Epstein wired $350,000 to two co-conspirators from his original deal with prosecutors in Florida, days after the Miami Herald published an investigative report on his case.

Back in 2008, federal prosecutors reportedly had the names of more than 40 girls who were accusing Epstein of abuse. But because of the non-prosecution agreement he signed, none of those girls were even given a chance to share their stories or to testify against him, and this week marked the first time any of Epstein’s accusers were able to face him in court.

One his is accusers, Courtney Wild, said, “To all the victims of Jeffrey Epstein: My name is Courtney Wild, and I was sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein as a child. In 2008, the U.S. attorney in Florida gave him a free pass on abusing me and many other victims. We weren’t even told this was happening and our rights were violated.”

Wild claimed she was just 14 years old when Epstein began sexually abusing her, and she is now urging other women to come forward with their stories. More than a dozen women have come forward since Epstein was indicted, and it is likely that many more will as the trial goes on.

Epstein is currently facing a maximum of 45 years in prison if he is convicted of sex trafficking, but with more accusers coming forward, prosecutors now say their case against him is “getting stronger every single day.”

We also learned this week that while conducting a raid of Epstein’s home, FBI agents found a safe that contained nude photographs of possible minors, piles of cash, dozens of diamonds and an expired passport with a photo of Epstein and an alias that listed him as a resident of Saudi Arabia, which had been stamped in multiple countries.

While Epstein is at the center of this case, we know that there are numerous other people who were complicit in the sex trafficking scheme he is accused of running, and who were also protected by the agreement he signed in 2008.So, now it remains to be seen if anyone else will face charges as a result of this case finally moving forward.