EFTA01108455

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 
VIRGIN ISLANDS 
Epstein accusers press 
to reopen sex abuse case 
By CURT ANDERSON 
The Associated Press 
MIAMI — Nearly a decade ago, 
wealthy financial guru Jeffrey 
Epstein came under FBI investiga-. 
tion, suspected of 
sexually abusing 
dozens of under-
age girls at his 
Palm Beach man-
sion. Then, 
abruptly, the 
investigation was 
dropped and 
Jeffrey Epstein 
pleaded guilty to Jeffrey Epstein 
a single state 
charge of soliciting prostitution. He 
served just over a year in jail. 
Now, two women who say they 
were among his victims have won 
a precedent-setting appeals court 
ruling entitling them to see all the 
documents from the plea bargain 
discussions between Epstein's 
high-powered lawyers and federal 
prosecutors. 
Their goal: use those files to undo 
the agreement, reopen the investiga-
tion, and subject Epstein to more 
charges. 
The women's lawyers contend 
Epstein got special treatment because 
of his wealth and connections. His.
attorneys deny that. 
Virgin Islands first lady Cecile 
deJongh is the manager of Financial 
Trust Co., a financial services com-
pany owned WEpstein. She has also 
worked with his charitable founda-
tion, the J. Epstein Virgin Islands 
Foundation. 
Epstein owns one of the territory's 
largest residential estates, the 68.7-
acre Little St. James Island. 
Epstein, 61, made hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars managing funds for 
rich clients. Shortly after his 2008 
guilty plea, it came to light that his 
lawyers had secretly reached a non-
prosecution agreement months earli-
er with the U.S. Justice Department 
that spared him a potentially heavier 
punishment. 
"Our complaint alleges that, prod-
ded by Epstein, the federal prosecu-
tors deliberately concealed the sweet-
heart plea deal they made with him 
to avoid public criticism," said Paul 
Cassell, a University of Utah law 
professor who is representing the two 
women. 
The U.S. attorney's office in 
Miami would not comment. But the 
U.S. attorney at the time, R.. 
Alexander Acosta, said in a 2011 let-
ter defending his office that more 
evidence came to light after Epstein 
made his deal. 
"Many victims have spoken out, 
filing detailed statements in civil 
cases seeking damages. Physical evi-
dence has been discovered," Acosta 
wrote. "Had these additional state-
ments and evidence been known, the 
outcome may have been different." 
Epstein has settled lawsuits for 
undisclosed amounts with many of 
the women who say they were under-
age when they were paid for sex. 
The case represents the first time a 
federal appeals court has ruled that 
the Crime Victims' Rights Act of 
2004 guarantees victims the right to 
be informed about the details of how 
a plea bargain was reached, accord-
ing to legal experts and lawyers 
involved in the case. The law marked 
the culmination of efforts begun in 
the 1960s to give crime victims more 
of a say. 
"I hope that the case will ultimate-
ly set an important precedent that 
federal prosecutors can't keep vic-
tims in the dark about the plea deals 
that they reach," Cassell said. 
Epstein served 13 months of an 
18-month sentence on the prostitu-
tion charge, sold his Palm Beach 
home in 2011 and now divides his 
time between a New York City home, 
Little St. James island and an apart-
ment in Paris, according to court doc-
uments. He also has a large New 
Mexico ranch. 
He donates huge sums each year, 
particularly toward projects involv-
ing new medical treatments and arti-
ficial intelligence. His foundation 
established a Harvard University 
program that uses mathematics to 
study evolutionary biology, viruses 
and disease. 
According to lawsuits filed by 
some of his accusers, Epstein relied 
on assistants to recruit underage girls 
to give him massages and perform 
sex acts. They were usually paid 
about $200. 
Some girls were notified about the 
investigation beginning in 2006. But 
they weren't told about the negotia-
tions with federal prosecutors for at 
least nine months, despite a require-
ment in the Crime Victims' Rights 
Act that they be kept informed. The 
two women r - who were 13 and 14 
when the alleged assaults occurred 
— sued for the files and won. 
"Although plea negotiations are 
vital to the functioning of the crimi-
nal justice System, a prosecutor and 
target of a criminal prosecution do 
not enjoy a relationship of confidence 
and trust when they negotiate," the 
appeals court said. 
Federal prosecutors have begun 
turning over the documents. 
Epstein's attorney, Roy Black, the 
celebrity lawyer who is also repre-
senting Justin Bieber in his DUI and 
resisting-arrest case in Miami 
Beach, declined to comment but has 
asked that the documents be kept 
from public view, and so far they 
have been. 
In a May 23 court filing, Black 
said that there was no conspiracy 
between prosecutors and Epstein's 
team to violate the victims' rights 
law and that the non-prosecution 
agreement contained many provi-
sions Epstein strongly opposed, 
such as registering as a sex offend-
er and agreeing not to contest cer-
tain lawsuits. 
"This was no sweetheart deal by 
any stretch of the imagination," 
Black said in court papers. 
Even if a judge invalidates the plea 
deal, it will still be up to federal pros-
ecutors to decide what to do. 
"The court can't force the prosecu-
tors to bring charges," said Matt 
Alexrod, a former federal prosecutor 
now' in private practice in 
Washington. 
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