Multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein pleaded not guilty Monday after he was indicted on charges that he operated a sex trafficking ring in which he sexually abused dozens of underage girls.
We’re wrapping up our live coverage, but in case you missed it, here are what you need to know about today’s hearing:
Multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein appeared in New York federal court Monday in connection with an indictment charging him with running a sex trafficking ring in which he sexually abused dozens of underage girls.
Artist Christine Cornell was in court and took this sketch of the hearing:
Attorney General William Barr said Monday that he is recused from the case involving multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
He told reporters in South Carolina one of the law firms that represented Epstein long ago was a firm Barr subsequently joined.
A senior administration official told CNN there was an internal administration review of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case in Florida.
The official was cautious in assessing Acosta’s standing with the White House.
The official could not say whether that review had been completed.
In November, the Miami Herald reported Acosta, who was the US Attorney in Florida, had brokered a deal with one of Epstein’s attorneys, where he pleaded to two state prostitution charges, ultimately serving only 13 months and avoiding a federal trial in 2008. He also registered as a sex offender and paid restitution to the victims identified by the FBI.
The deal allowed Epstein to avoid major repercussions even though a federal investigation had identified 36 underage victims.
The non-prosecution agreement only applies to the US Attorney’s office in Florida, which is why the Southern District of New York can file charges against Epstein.
The US attorney’s office has been contacted over the last 36 hours by attorneys and people who allege they were victims of Jeffrey Epstein, a prosecutor told the judge at Monday’s hearing.
None of them had previously spoken with the office.
The prosecutor also said Epstein has refused to answer questions about his wealth or assets for pretrial services.
Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney Reid Weingarten, speaking in federal court, described the Manhattan US attorney’s indictment as a “do-over” of the Florida investigation.
About the Florida investigation: The well-connected hedge fund manager previously evaded similar charges when he secured a non-prosecution deal with federal prosecutors in Miami. Instead of facing federal charges, Epstein pleaded guilty to two state prostitution charges in 2008 and served just 13 months in prison. He also registered as a sex offender and paid restitution to the victims identified by the FBI.
But that arrangement has come under intense scrutiny as the result of a Miami Herald investigation that examined how it was handled by then-US Attorney Alexander Acosta, who now serves as labor secretary in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.
The Herald investigation said that Acosta gave Epstein the “deal of a lifetime” despite a federal investigation identifying 36 underage victims. The agreement, the Herald said, “essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe” and further granted immunity to “any potential co-conspirators” in the case.
In February, a federal judge in Florida ruled that the Department of Justice broke the law by failing to confer with Epstein’s victims about the agreement.
Referencing the 2007 non-prosecution agreement Epstein entered with the Southern District of Florida earlier Monday, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said, “that agreement only binds, by its terms, only binds the Southern District of Florida. The Southern District of New York is not bound by that agreement and is not a signatory to that agreement.”
At Jeffrey Epstein’s hearing today, the parties and the judge agreed to adjourn the detention hearing until Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.
Epstein will be detained until that time.
Jeffrey Epstein pleaded not guilty to the charges he is facing — one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors.
He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted of the charges, which carry no mandatory minimum sentences.
Jeffrey Epstein just entered a courtroom in New York where he will be presented before a federal judge.
He is wearing navy prison garb, his hair is rumpled, and his face is ruddy. He isn’t wearing handcuffs.
In advance of the scheduled bail hearing this afternoon, US prosecutors submitted a letter to the court requesting Epstein be detained pending trial, calling the multi-millionaire “an extraordinary risk of flight.”
In the letter, prosecutors said Epstein “cannot meet his burden of overcoming the presumption that there is no combination of conditions that would reasonably assure his continued appearance in this case or protect the safety of the community were he to be released.”
Investigators said in their memo that Epstein possesses three US passports, two private jets, and at least 15 cars.
What police found when they raided Epstein’s mansion: The US Attorney’s Office also provided detail on what was seized during its raid of Epstein’s NYC mansion, which they said is worth $77 million.
Prosecutors alleged Epstein “has continued to maintain a vast trove of lewd photographs of young-looking women or girls in his Manhattan mansion.”
Investigators said they recovered “at least hundreds—and perhaps thousands—of sexually suggestive photographs of fully- or partially nude females”
They continued: “Some of the nude or partially-nude photographs appear to be of underage girls, including at least one girl who, according to her counsel, was underage at the time the relevant photographs were taken.”
Multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein is accused of operating a sex trafficking ring and paying young girls to engage in sex acts with him.
In an indictment that was unsealed today, prosecutors outline charges that carry a 45-year maximum sentence if Epstein is convicted.
What we know about the arrest:
What the court documents say:
What prosecutors said so far:
Agents executing a search warrant of Epstein’s mansion in New York City recovered and seized “evidence, including nude photographs of what appeared to be underage girls,” US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said.
US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman said his office is “not bound” by the plea deal Epstein struck years ago with federal prosecutors in Florida who were investigating him for similar crimes.
“Jeffrey Epstein entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Southern District of Florida,” Berman said. “That agreement only binds, by its terms, only binds the Southern District of Florida. The Southern District of New York is not bound by that agreement and is not a signatory to that agreement.”
In that 2007 agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida, and served a 13-month sentence, which was partly completed through work release.
The indictment against Epstein in New York comes months after a federal judge ruled the agreement in Florida violated federal law.
Geoffrey Berman, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the charges against Jeffrey Epstein carry a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.
“The charges are very serious, and they carry a maximum of 45 years in jail, which to someone of Epstein’s age is basically a life sentence,” he said.
Berman said Epstein is a “significant flight risk” because of both his “enormous wealth” and because of the seriousness of the charges.
Prosecutors are calling for other victims or anyone with information about Jeffrey Epstein to come forward.
“If you believe you are a victim of this man, Jeffrey Epstein, or you have evidence or information relating to the conduct alleged in the indictment unsealed today, we want to hear from you,” Geoffrey Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said.
Epstein is charged with operating a sex-trafficking ring and paying young girls to engage in sex acts. Berman said his office is proud to bring the indictment and stand up for victims.
Prosecutors are asking that Jeffrey Epstein be detained until trial, Geoffrey Berman, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference.
Berman said Epstein is being held at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He was arrested on Saturday at the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. His private plane had just landed from Paris, France.
An attorney for three alleged Jeffrey Epstein victims said his clients are “very gratified” by the indictments.
Attorney David Boies represents three women who have publicly shared allegations of abuse by Epstein – some of whom were minors during the time of the crimes.
“It’s a great step forward. This one is something that was a long time coming — too long,” he told CNN. “It is a great step towards getting justice for these victims, and the prosecutors in New York deserve a lot of credit for putting this together.”
Boies continued: “This indictment is important on two levels: first and most important it is a big step towards getting justice for the many victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. Second it’s also important because it is a correction of what should have happened 10 years ago. The Justice Department is now doing what it can to make things right.”
Boies would not confirm if his clients were the victims explicitly mentioned in the indictment, however, details laid out in the indictment match up with information they have submitted as part of lawsuits against Epstein and his associates over the past decade.
Remember: The indictment doesn’t name any alleged victims, referring to them only as “Minor Victim-1,” “Minor Victim-2” and “Minor Victim-3”
Federal prosecutors want to seize Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, according to the indictment that was unsealed Monday.
The indictment states that Epstein “shall forfeit” any property that was “used to commit or facilitate” crimes laid out in the indictment. The court documents specifically reference Epstein’s Upper East Side home in the forfeiture allegations.
From the indictment:
According to the newly unsealed indictment, Epstein allegedly paid hundreds of dollars in cash to girls as young as 14 to have sex with him at his Upper East Side home and his estate in Palm Beach.
The indictment says Epstein would sometimes personally reach out to girls to schedule appointments at his residence in New York, and other times he directed his employees to talk to girls to arrange the sexual encounters.
Jeffrey Epstein knew some of the girls were underage, according to court filings, in part because some of the girls told him their age.
The indictment also implicates some of Epstein’s employees — one of whom, referred to only as “Employee-1” — called girls who had previously been lured into encounters with Epstein to arrange future visits to his New York residence.
When Epstein would travel by private jet from New York to Palm Beach, an employee or associate would “ensure that minor victims were available for encounters upon his arrival in Florida,” according to the indictment.
Jeffrey Epstein paid young girls hundreds of dollars to give him nude or partially nude “massages,” according to an indictment.
The document alleges that during the massage, Epstein would escalate the encounter to “include one or more sex acts.”
“Epstein typically would also masturbate during these sexualized encounters, ask victims to touch him while he masturbated, and touch victims’ genitals with his hands or with sex toys,” the indictment alleges.
The indictment said that sometimes, Epstein would personally reach out to girls to schedule appointments at his residence in New York, and other times he directed his employees to talk to girls to arrange the sexual encounters.
Epstein is charged with operating a sex trafficking ring and expected to appear in court Monday.
