Was Jeffrey Epstein’s plea deal fishy?
THE INDICTMENT of Jeffrey Epstein on charges of sex-trafficking described a pyramid scheme for the sexual abuse of minors. Mr Epstein would pay hundreds of dollars apiece for sexual encounters with adolescent girls at his mansion in Manhattan’s Upper East Side and then pay them to recruit other underage girls. When police searched the residence they uncovered hundreds of pictures of nude, young-looking women—some on CDs kept in a locked safe with names like “Misc nudes 1” and “Girl pics nude”. Three personal employees apparently aided in the scheme. This is all revolting, but it is hardly a great surprise.
More than a decade ago police and prosecutors stumbled across a similar pattern of conduct in Palm Beach, Florida, where Mr Epstein owns another mansion. In a later civil case, the victims alleged that hundreds of young girls had been abused. Yet Mr Epstein got off remarkably lightly. His plea deal, which was not first shown to the victims as required by federal law, included charges of “soliciting prostitution” from a girl as young as 14 (and thus well below the state age of consent). He received a sentence of 18 months, of which he served 13 months in the private wing of a county jail. Mr Epstein was released for six days out of the week to go to work. Harsher sentences are doled out for forging a check.
The case...