This archive report was first published on 27 August 2019.
On August 27, 2019, a federal judge in Manhattan formally dismissed the charges against financier Jeffrey Epstein, following his death in prison. The decision was met with anger and frustration from several women who claimed to have been sexually exploited by Epstein.
At a hearing in a larger courtroom, Epstein's accusers spoke about how they had been coerced into having sex with him at a young age and were then pressured to continue seeing him. Many of the women spoke through tears, expressing their emotions and sense of injustice.
One of Epstein's accusers, Courtney Wild, told the court that Epstein's suicide had robbed her and other victims of the chance to confront him in court. “For that, he is a coward,” she said.
Prosecutors told the court that the investigation into Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme continues, with several employees and others believed to have aided him in procuring dozens of teenage girls and women for sex. The dismissal of Epstein's case does not prohibit or inhibit the government's ongoing investigation into other potential co-conspirators, nor does it prevent the bringing of a new case in the future, according to a government prosecutor.
Judge Richard M. Berman scheduled the hearing after federal prosecutors wrote to him, saying they planned to drop the criminal charges against Epstein in light of his death. The judge stated that he wanted to ensure the victims in the case were treated fairly and with dignity.
Epstein had been charged with bringing dozens of underage girls to his mansion in New York and to his compound in Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005. He then engaged in sex acts with the girls during naked massage sessions, paying them hundreds of dollars in cash each time, prosecutors said.
