On July 6th, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, from incidents that occurred between 2002 and 2005. According to law enforcement, these incidents stem from sexual trafficking involving minors. This arrest was part of a joint investigation involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the NYPD, and the FBI. The SDNY’s Public Corruption Unit was the spearhead of the investigative task force and worked with the sex crimes division to bring Epstein into custody. Officials have stated that Epstein is looking at two federal charges that include dozens of victims.
Minors were allegedly paid by Epstein for massages and then eventually sexual acts. He would allegedly then pay and convince these victims to bring other underage girls to be subjected to the same scheme. These incidents happened at both of his Palm Beach, Florida and Upper East Side, New York homes. Epstein fell under renewed interest after the details of his plea bargain for with prosecutors in 2008 came under scrutiny. He pled guilty to soliciting only one underage victim for sex and received a state charge. Prosecutors then reportedly filed the case away and no longer pursued the charges against him or any of his enablers. This arrest puts into the spotlight his friendships and associations with high profile individual such as president Donald Trump.
Recently resigned Secretary of Labor and former Miami U.S Attorney Alexander Acosta office declined to make the victims aware of the plea deal. Now, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Mara ruled that by not informing the victims, the prosecutors violated their rights. Paul G. Cassel, one of the accuser’s attorney stated that Epstein’s arrest proves that prosecutors should have charged him years ago. He also said that Epstein, with his vast fortune, and had been delaying justice for more than a decade, but his time is now up. U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, also stated that Epstein has evaded justice for far too long and should be in prison and not allowed to post bail.