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Jeffrey Epstein expected to make court appearance on sex trafficking charges Jeffrey Epstein expected to make court appearance on sex trafficking charges
(about 2 hours later)
Eleven years after letting Jeffrey Epstein off lightly with a once-secret plea deal, the US government is taking another run at putting the wealthy sex offender behind bars with new sex trafficking charges law enforcement officials say involve allegations dating to the early 2000s. Eleven years after letting Jeffrey Epstein off lightly with a once-secret plea deal, the US government is taking another run at putting the billionaire sex offender behind bars with new sex trafficking charges law enforcement officials say involve allegations dating to the early 2000s.
Epstein was arrested over the weekend and is expected to make his first court appearance on the new charges on Monday in New York City. Prosecutors will probably argue he is a flight risk and should remain in jail instead of being released on bail.
One law enforcement official said the case deals with allegations that Epstein, a 66-year-old hedge fund manager who once hobnobbed with some of the world’s most powerful people, paid underage girls for massages and molested them at his homes in Florida and New York.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. Court documents related to the case have been kept under seal and no official announcement of Epstein’s arrest has been made. Epstein’s lawyer did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Epstein, whose friends have included Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, was arrested on Saturday after his private jet touched down from France.
Jeffrey Epstein: inside the decade of scandal entangling Prince AndrewJeffrey Epstein: inside the decade of scandal entangling Prince Andrew
A taskforce of federal agents and New York police officers met the plane at Teterboro airport near New York, law enforcement officials said. He is being held at the Metropolitan correctional center, a federal jail near the Manhattan courthouse where he is due to appear. Epstein was arrested on Saturday and is expected to appear in court on Monday in New York City. Prosecutors will probably argue he is a flight risk and should remain in jail. Before 9am, a throng of reporters and photographers had gathered outside the southern district of New York courthouse in downtown Manhattan.
Former federal prosecutor David Weinstein said there was almost no chance Epstein would be allowed home after the hearing. Under federal court rules, prosecutors can keep a defendant locked up for three extra days while preparing for a bail hearing without needing a reason. That would mean a bail hearing on Thursday. One law enforcement official told the Associated Press the case deals with allegations that Epstein, a 66-year-old hedge fund manager who once hobnobbed with some of the world’s most powerful people, paid underage girls for massages and molested them at his homes in Florida and New York.
“The government is clearly seeking to have him detained,” Weinstein said. “The guy is a millionaire or a billionaire. He has unrestrained assets. If they let him out on a bond, he may take off, go to a jurisdiction where they don’t have extradition and they may never get him back.” Epstein, was who arrested after his private jet touched down from France, counted Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew among high-profile friends.
Epstein’s arrest, first reported by the Daily Beast, came amid increased scrutiny of the 2008 non-prosecution deal that allowed him to plead guilty to lesser state charges while maintaining a jet-set lifestyle. The counts against him will allege that he drew dozens of underage girls to his home on the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. Prosecutors will allege some of the girls were just 14 years old. If convicted, Epstein could face up to 45 years in federal prison, according to the New York Times.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. Court documents related to the case have been kept under seal and no official announcement has been made. A law enforcement source confirmed to the Guardian that Epstein had been arrested. At the courthouse, Epstein’s lawyers did not comment.
A taskforce of federal agents and police officers met the plane at Teterboro airport near New York, law enforcement officials said. He is being held at the Metropolitan correctional center, a federal jail near the courthouse.
Under federal court rules, prosecutors can keep a defendant locked up for three extra days while preparing for a bail hearing. That would mean a bail hearing on Thursday.
“The government is clearly seeking to have him detained,” former federal prosecutor David Weinstein told the AP. “The guy is a millionaire or a billionaire. He has unrestrained assets. If they let him out on a bond, he may take off, go to a jurisdiction where they don’t have extradition and they may never get him back.”
Epstein’s arrest, first reported by the Daily Beast, came amid increased scrutiny of the 2008 deal that allowed him to plead guilty to lesser state charges while maintaining a jet-set lifestyle.
Under the deal, overseen by former Miami US attorney and Trump’s labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, Epstein avoided a life sentence and served 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to Florida charges of soliciting and procuring a person under age 18 for prostitution. It also required he reach financial settlements with dozens of his victims and register as a sex offender.Under the deal, overseen by former Miami US attorney and Trump’s labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, Epstein avoided a life sentence and served 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to Florida charges of soliciting and procuring a person under age 18 for prostitution. It also required he reach financial settlements with dozens of his victims and register as a sex offender.
Acosta has defended the plea deal as appropriate under the circumstances, though the White House said in February that it was “looking into” his handling of the deal. Acosta has defended the plea deal, though the White House said in February that it was “looking into” his handling of it. The US Department of Justice opened an inquiry into federal prosecutors’ handling of Espstein’s plea agreement.
The deal, examined in detail in a series of reports in the Miami Herald, is being challenged in Florida federal court. US district judge Kenneth Marra of Florida ruled earlier this year that Epstein’s victims should have been consulted under federal law about the deal, and he is now weighing whether to invalidate it. Acosta defended his role in abandoning a more-than-50 page federal indictment against Epstein, saying in May that his office was “too aggressive”.
Federal prosecutors recently filed court papers in the Florida case contending Epstein’s deal must stand. “This matter was appealed all the way up to the deputy attorney general’s office. And not because we weren’t doing enough, but because the contention was that we were too aggressive,” Acosta said in a House education and labor committee hearing.
“The past cannot be undone; the government committed itself to the [deal] and the parties have not disputed that Epstein complied with its provisions,” prosecutors wrote in the filing. The deal is being challenged in Florida federal court. US district judge Kenneth Marra ruled earlier this year that Epstein’s victims should have been consulted under federal law about the deal, and he is weighing whether to invalidate it.
They acknowledged, however, that the failure to consult victims “fell short of the government’s dedication to serve victims to the best of its ability” and that prosecutors “should have communicated with the victims in a straightforward and transparent way”. Federal prosecutors recently filed court papers contending Epstein’s deal must stand. They acknowledged, however, that the failure to consult victims “fell short of the government’s dedication to serve victims to the best of its ability” and that prosecutors “should have communicated with the victims in a straightforward and transparent way”.
The victims in the Florida case have until Monday to respond.The victims in the Florida case have until Monday to respond.
It was not immediately clear whether that case and the new case involved the same victims, since nearly all have remained anonymous. Even so, Weinstein said, the deal only applies to federal prosecutors in the southern district of Florida. The current case is being pursued by the southern district of New York. It was not immediately clear whether that case and the new case involved the same victims. Even so, Weinstein said, the deal only applies to federal prosecutors in the southern district of Florida. The current case is being pursued by the southern district of New York. There are no double jeopardy implications because Epstein’s guilty plea involved only state crimes while the current case involves federal law.
There are no double jeopardy implications because Epstein’s guilty plea involved only state crimes while the current case involves federal law. Prince Andrew named in US lawsuit over underage sex claims
According to court records in Florida, authorities say at least 40 underage girls were brought into Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion for what turned into sexual encounters after female fixers looked for suitable girls locally and in other parts of the world. Epstein’s arrest came days after a federal appeals court in New York ordered the unsealing of nearly 2,000 pages of records in a settled defamation case involving Epstein.
Some girls were allegedly brought to Epstein’s homes in New York, New Mexico and a private Caribbean island, according to court documents. In January 2015, the Guardian and Politico reported on a court filing alleging Epstein forced a teenage victim into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. Buckingham Palace maintained the claim was “categorically untrue” and “false and without any foundation”.
Epstein’s arrest came days after a federal appeals court in New York ordered the unsealing of nearly 2,000 pages of records in a since settled defamation case involving Epstein. Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of media mogul Robert Maxwell, reportedly introduced Andrew to Epstein the 1990s, when she was Epstein’s girlfriend.
Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts has claimed Maxwell invited her to work as a masseuse for the financier when she was just 15. She later sued Maxwell for defamation, over her denial of the sex abuse claims. They settled in May 2017.
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US crimeUS crime
Sex tradeSex trade
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