Jeffrey Epstein Charged with Sex Trafficking Involving Minors, Conspiracy
by Joshua Caplan
Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was charged with sex trafficking involving dozens of girls — some as young as 14-years-old — between 2002 to 2005, as well as conspiracy, according to a two-count indictment unsealed Monday morning.
Epstein, arrested over the weekend, was expected to make his first court appearance on the new charges in New York City on Monday.
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.
Epstein’s arrest, first reported by The Daily Beast, came amid increased scrutiny of the 2008 non-prosecution deal that allowed Epstein to plead guilty to lesser state charges while maintaining a jet-set lifestyle, which includes homes in Paris and the U.S. Virgin Islands and a pricy Bentley.
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 Eastern Europe and other parts of the world.
Some girls were also allegedly brought to Epstein’s homes in New York City, New Mexico, and a private Caribbean island, according to those court documents.
“During the encounter, Epstein would escalate the nature and scope of physical contact with his victim to include, among other things, sex acts such as groping and direct and indirect contact with the victim’s genitals,” alleges the indictment unsealed in New York.
“Epstein typically would also masturbate during these sexualized encounters, ask victims to touch him while he masturbated, and touch victims’ genitals with his hands or with sex toys,” it reads.
The charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison if the billionaire is found guilty. At a press conference Monday, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said federal prosecutors will seek to hold Epstein without bail.
“It’s been a long time coming—it’s been too long coming,” David Boies, an attorney who represents a pair of Epstein accusers, said in a statement to the Daily Beast. “It is an important step towards getting justice for the many victims of Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise.
full story at https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/07/08/jeffrey-epstein-charged-with-sex-trafficking-involving-minors-conspiracy/