EFTA00617854

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 
VIRGIN ISLANDS 
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• It 
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Epstein's accusers press 
to reopen sex abuse case 
By CURT ANDERSON 
The Associated Press 
MIAMI 
Nearly a decade ago, 
• wealthy €inancial 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 
a single state 
charge of soliciting prostitution. He 
served just over ayear 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 
discusiVirbetween Epstein's, 
,,,,,,aridAllt-iVoweicil lawyers and federal 
—•‘"' prosecutors. 
Thcir 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 
deiongli is the manager of Financial 
Trust Co., a financial services corn-
pany.ownedby,Epstein. 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 htindreds of mil-, 
• lionsof dollaritiianaging full& for 
rich clients. Shotily after his 2008 
guilty plea; it came to 'tight 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-
Jeffrey Epstein 
.: 
BIG LEE
1 CISTERN SERVICE I 
1 
Building • Repairing
Sealing • Ins 8 ection 
st. 
ded by Epstein, the federal prosecu-
tors deliberately concealed the sweet-
heart plea deal they made with him 
to avoid public criticism," said Patil 
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 sceking damages. Physical 64-
dente has been discovered," Acosta 
wrote. "Had these additional state- •• 
metiti anctevidence 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 victim the right to 
be informed about the details of how 
a plea bargaM.Was reached, accord-
ing to-legal experts and lawyers 
involved in the case. The law marked 
the milniination of efforts begun in 
the 1960sto 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;" eaccell 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 Ncw 
Mexico ranch. 
He donates huge sums each year,, 
particularly toward projects involv-
ing new medical treatments and.arti-
. ficial intelligence. His foundation 
'established a liartrankilniversity 
program that uses. mathematics to 
• • 
study evolutionary biology, viruses 
anddicnse. 
. 
. . 
ACcording to lawsuits ft led 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 5200. ' 
' 
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 therbe kept informed. Tbe ' 
two women.= 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 
notenjoy a relationship of confidence 
and trust vAcn they negotiate," the 
anneals court said. 
" - . - 
:-
Federal prosecutors have begun 
• turning over the documents: • ' 
Epste'. 
. oy Black, the ..
is 
celebrity 
iS also reprc-
senting`Justin lc 
m 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 beep. 
' 
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. 
"litany cithitIciree theproiecu-
tors to bring. charges," said Matt 
Aleitrocl, a former.federal prosecutor 
now in private practice,. in 
Washington. 
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EFTA00617854