Even if the names of many Hollywood stars and politicians are on the listList of relatives of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein Released Wednesday night in New York, little new information was released about the vast sex trafficking conspiracy at the center of the story.
• Also read: Everything we know about Epstein's friends list
The documents published so far tell an interesting story: In the 1990s, many distinguished guests from around the world happily accepted the luxurious hospitality of a corrupt financier with a jet and a private island in the Caribbean.
On the sidelines of the libel trial of Jeffrey Epstein's ex-partner and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, the lawyer representing a victim of billionaire Sigrid McCawley reminded the media that “the public questioned and many rightly demanded to know how Epstein dealt with his great Success was bypassed. “She was a global sex trafficking operation and got away scot-free for decades.”
Are invitations to Epstein's private island proof of his complicity? Could disclosing these names help bring justice to the victims of the sex offender and his accomplice?
Although there is no doubt that several people were involved in this minor trafficking network, Ms. Maxwell remains the only accomplice of Esptein to be convicted to date. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida for recruiting and inciting minors to have sexual relations with her ex-partner.
Remember that the late billionaire committed suicide in prison.
Separate friends from accomplices
Some details in the leaked documents could prove incriminating if confirmed.
For example, it is alleged that Prince Andrew took part in an “underage orgy” on Epstein's private island. The papers say an underage girl identified only as “Jane Doe 3” was “forced to have sex with this prince when she was a minor, in three different geographical locations.”
Buckingham Palace said the allegations were “categorically false” and that the British prince had always denied wrongdoing.
AFP
Second, several people mentioned in the testimony of another Epstein accuser, Johanna Sjoberg, who worked for the late billionaire for five years, are currently indirectly linked to the sex offender.
The victim names Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Bruce Willis, but admits he never met them. She claims to have heard the billionaire mention these names in phone conversations in which he asked if he could find women for her. Epstein also reportedly named Bill Clinton and stated that he liked young girls.
The former employee admits that these could be boastful claims made by the fame-crazy Epstein.
In November 2022, Ms Giuffre dropped charges against someone close to Espstein, saying she “may have made a mistake” in identifying him as one of her attackers. She then explained that she was young at the time and was in a “very stressful and traumatic environment.”
An “uncomfortable” relationship
A New York-based public relations specialist recalled that “Jeffrey Epstein was a hedge fund man” and that “wealthy people did business with him beyond what he is known for today.”
“It was not unusual for people to be in contact with him and mingle with him,” he said. Just being there, being in your book, means nothing, and people need to keep that in mind.”
But although the people named in court documents so far have not been accused of criminal wrongdoing, their proximity to Epstein is likely to damage their reputations and raise uncomfortable questions.
− With information from The Guardian