Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein charged over sex trafficking of underage girls
Authorities say the wealthy financier paid girls “as young as 14” at his New York and Florida homes between 2002 and 2005.
US billionaire Jeffrey Epstein has been charged with two counts of sex trafficking of underage girls after being arrested at a New Jersey airport on Saturday.
Authorities say the wealthy financier paid girls “as young as 14” for massages then molested them at his New York and Florida homes between 2002 and 2005.
Manhattan US attorney Geoffrey Berman said Epstein, a hedge fund tycoon, is suspected of exploiting and abusing “dozens of victims”.
Berman said: “Epstein exploited girls who were vulnerable to abuse, enticed them with cash payments, and escalated his conduct to include sex acts, often at his residence on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
“While the charged conduct is from a number of years ago, the victims – then children and now young women – are no less entitled to their day in court.”
He said the children were “asked to engage in direct or indirect sex acts in exchange for money,” adding that people around Epstein “turned a blind eye” to the behaviour.
Police received an anonymous call from a woman in 2005 who said her 14-year old stepdaughter had told her she had gone to Epstein’s house and been paid $300 for sex.
This began an 11-month undercover FBI investigation into Epstein, at the end of which up to 40 alleged victims had been identified. In 2008 he pleaded guilty to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution, served 13 months and registered as a sex offender.
In 2002 Donald Trump called Epstein a “terrific guy” whilst acknowledging that he knew Epstein liked girls “on the younger side”.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
