Epstein files place renewed attention on US authorities’ failure to stop him | Jeffrey Epstein
TThe Justice Department’s release of millions of Jeffrey Epstein files not only raised questions about his crimes but also highlighted the failure of authorities to stop him after an accuser reported him in 1996.
This new cache of Epstein files provided more insight into authorities’ familiarity with the allegations against him in the years that followed, including the period between his love affair in 2008 and his federal arrest nearly six years ago.
Although accuser Virginia Giuffre’s lawyers reportedly met with federal prosecutors about Epstein in 2016 to no avail, recently released files show that detailed information was provided to federal authorities years before that meeting. These included allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor; Documents show he came onto the FBI’s radar about 15 years ago.
A woman whose name was redacted from those documents gave an interview to FBI agents about Epstein and Maxwell in 2011, with a federal prosecutor participating by phone; Her account reflects Giuffre’s public and legal allegations against sex traffickers.
The US embassy in Australia told the country’s national police: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation Miami Field Office (FBI Miami) is assisting the Palm Beach Police Department in Florida with an ongoing investigation into US citizen JEFFREY EPSTEIN.”
Who was the accuser said In late 2008, one of Epstein’s victims contacted federal authorities in south Florida three years later about the plea deal, apparently. Federal agents questioned him at the U.S. consulate in Sydney on March 17, 2011.
This woman gave a comprehensive account of Epstein’s abuse as a young girl in the late 1990s and the alleged involvement of other men as well as his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The woman, who described suffering at the hands of several predatory men after leaving the rehab center, told agents that her father, a maintenance worker at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, found her a job there as a locker room attendant.
At that time, the woman who wanted to be a massage therapist was reading a book on the subject. Maxwell approached him and claimed he was looking for a traveling masseuse.
Shortly after, the woman went to Epstein’s home in Palm Beach, where he abused her. She told agents that she eventually traveled, the sexual abuse continued and she sold herself to other men.
Giuffre, who died by suicide last spring, had long claimed that Epstein and Maxwell lured her into a sexual relationship with the former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The former prince, who was removed from royal life due to his relationship with Epstein, was arrested in England on Thursday; He flatly denied injustice.
Maxwell, who was found guilty of luring teenage girls into Epstein’s predatory orbit, has insisted on her innocence. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting his sex trafficking trial.
FBI documents describing this interview also detail threatening actions against this woman. He told federal agents he received phone calls from men claiming to be FBI agents seeking information about their knowledge of Epstein.
A few weeks after these men contacted him, he said, a lawyer and Epstein called him on the phone and told him he would “take care of him if he didn’t say anything to investigators.”
The release of information about that 2011 interview comes as victims and advocates continue to demonstrate that law enforcement officials had opportunities to meaningfully hold Epstein and Maxwell accountable before their arrests in 2019. The chronology makes it clear that others would not have been harassed if Epstein had been arrested.
In 1996, painter Maria Farmer, who worked for Epstein, filed a report with the FBI stating that she had “stolen” nude paintings of her siblings. This FBI report states that Farmer took artistic photographs of his younger sisters for his personal work.
“Epstein stole the photographs and negatives and is thought to have sold the photographs to potential buyers,” the report said.
The document also stated that Epstein asked for “photos of young girls in the swimming pool” and threatened Farmer that he would “burn down her house if she told anyone about the photos.”
Epstein served a brief stint in a Palm Beach jail on Florida state prostitution charges, including procuring someone under 18, as part of a plea deal he made to his lover. He was given a work permit.
Between that plea deal, which allowed him to avoid a federal investigation, and his arrest years later, Epstein also harassed others, authorities said. An adult victim claimed she was harassed in Epstein’s office during the day off.
Virgin Islands lawsuit filed In January 2020, it was stated in Epstein’s estate that flight records from 2011 to 2019 showed that he brought underage girls and young women to his private island, where they were “deceptively subjected to sexual servitude, coerced to participate in sexual acts, and coerced into commercial sexual activity and forced labor.”
“As recently as 2018, air traffic controllers and other airport personnel reported seeing Epstein exit his plane with teenage girls, some of whom appeared to be between 11 and 18 years old,” the lawsuit states. The statement was included. Virgin Islands: “Epstein trafficked and abused these girls and others in the Virgin Islands through 2018.”
Spencer Kuvin, who does not represent Giuffre but is an attorney for several Epstein victims, questioned why federal agents did not take action after the 2011 interview.
“If this information is reliable — and there is every reason to believe it — then the obvious question is why no meaningful action was followed,” Goldlaw’s Kuvin said. “Survivors did their part. They spoke out. When institutions do not take action based on these statements, the system, not the victims, should bear the responsibility.
He also said, “This is deeply disturbing. Survivors like Virginia have shown extraordinary courage in coming forward.” “The lack of urgency is institutional. Accountability must include examining why these opportunities were missed.”
When asked what happened after the 2011 interview, the FBI said it “declined to comment.” The Justice Department did not immediately respond to questions about what happened after that interview.
