This archive report was first published on 9 July 2019.
Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Trafficking Charges ¶
Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier, has been accused of sex trafficking and abusing underage girls. He was arrested on Saturday and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Epstein's case has drawn intense interest due to his extensive ties to celebrities, socialites, and powerful figures, including former President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors unsealed new charges of sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy on Monday, arguing that Epstein be held without bail. They claimed that Epstein's lewd photos showed he was not reformed and was still a threat to society.
Epstein, 66, has been accused for years in civil court cases and police complaints of preying on girls at his New York City mansion and his Palm Beach, Fla., estate. An investigation was opened in 2005 after the parents of an accuser in Florida reported him to the police.
However, in 2008, prosecutors in Miami made a secret deal with Epstein that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution. Instead, he spent about a year in a Palm Beach jail, where he was allowed to leave six days a week for work.
President Trump's secretary of labor, Alexander Acosta, then a United States attorney in Southern Florida, oversaw the 2008 plea deal that was widely criticized as letting the financier off the hook.
Epstein's high-profile connections have included former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew of Britain, and President Trump, among others. In 2002, Trump told New York magazine that Epstein was a 'terrific guy' and that he liked beautiful women as much as he did.
Prosecutors are also looking for the forfeiture of Epstein's Upper East Side mansion, valued at $56 million, on East 71st Street. He is accused of abusing underage girls there.
