Jeffrey Epstein, who is a wealthy, politically connected Florida financier, was arrested in New York on Saturday after returning to the United States from France on sex trafficking charges, as per to the sources.
The arrest was the result of a joint operation which was held by the FBI along with the New York Police Department. Two of the law enforcement officials on a condition of anonymity said that Epstein was expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Monday.
The accurate charges which Epstein is going to face are still uncertain, but according to the sources the charges may possibly to comprise of conspiracy and sex trafficking of minor girls in New York as well as in Florida.
As per to the sources, at least some of the charges may involve allegations dating back more than a decade. A senior official also briefed on the case by stating that there were dozens of alleged under aged victims, some of them were as young as 14.
The accusation against Epstein is going to remain under seal until a hearing in federal court in Manhattan arranged for Monday, the sources say.
Epstein’s lead attorney Jack Goldberger also said to a news agency that at this time he declines to comment on this case.
The sex trafficking crimes apparently occurred at his homes on the Upper East Side and in Palm Beach, Florida.
On Saturday, Epstein was flying from Paris to New York and then he was arrested at Teterboro Airport, the sources said.
The first ever investigation against Epstein was started in the year 2005 for alleged sex crimes against minor girls by both local as well as federal authorities in Florida. The main accusations turned around an alleged scheme to employee young girls to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion for massages that, in numerous cases, ran to sexual contact, as per to the court records as well as law enforcement documents.
The Federal authorities, in the end, acknowledged more than three dozen girls who had been alleged victims of Epstein, but in spite of pursuing a prosecution, come into a once-secret non-prosecution contract with Epstein in the year 2007 that concluded the federal investigation as well as freed him from a possibly extensive prison sentence.
In the year 2008, two of Epstein’s alleged victims filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Justice, charging that the contract with Epstein had been reached in violation of the Crimes Victims’ Rights Act, which needs that the government can discuss with victims as well as keep them well-versed of progress in their cases.
Previously this year, a federal judge ruled that the agreement, in fact, did violate the rights of Epstein’s victims. Now, the court at present is seeing the likely remedies for the violation of the law.
Paul Cassell, co-counsel together with Edwards for victims Jane Doe 1 and 2 in the case challenging the DOJ over the non-prosecution settlement with Epstein, said, “If today’s report is true, it only proves that the Epstein should have been charged by federal prosecutors twelve years ago in Florida,”
The statement further added, “With his money, Epstein was able to buy more than a decade of delay in facing justice – but fortunately he wasn’t able to postpone justice forever.”
Cassell also said, “While New York prosecutors are apparently seeking to hold Epstein accountable, the Jane Does’ fight will continue to force federal prosecutors in Florida to do the same thing.”
