09/07/2019 12:12 PM IST | Updated 09/07/2019 12:13 PM IST

Who Is Jeffrey Epstein, The US Billionaire Charged With Sex Trafficking Underage Girls?

Money manager with links to Donald Trump and Bill Clinton is accused of abusing girls as young as 14.

The billionaire financier, Jeffrey Epstein, on Monday pleaded not guilty after formally being accused of luring dozens of girls as young as 14 to his luxury homes in New York and Florida and paying them for sex acts.

The charges comes almost 15 years after Epstein was first investigated after police in Florida received reports he had sexually abused underage girls in his mansion.

Epstein, 66, who escaped serious punishment on federal prostitution charges in 2008, is known for socialising with politicians and royalty, and friends have included US president Donald Trump and ex-president Bill Clinton. He has also counted Prince Andrew among his associates.

What happened on Monday?

Prosecutors with the US Attorney’s Office in New York filed a 14-page grand jury indictment accusing Epstein of paying dozens of girls as young as 14 to engage in sex acts with him in his homes in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005.


The hedge fund manager was charged with child sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.

Prosecutors said the evidence included a “vast trove” of hundreds or even thousands of lewd photographs of young women or girls, discovered in a search of his New York home.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman speaks during a news conference in New York on Monday

US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said at a press conference agents discovered the photos while executing a search warrant following Epstein’s arrest.

Epstein, who was arrested over the weekend as he arrived in the US from Paris aboard his private jet, pleaded not guilty. 


The defendant will remain in jail until a bail hearing, when prosecutors planned to argue that the world traveller might flee, or try to intimidate witnesses, if released. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.

Epstein’s links to the famous and powerful

Epstein’s arrest came amid increased #MeToo-era scrutiny of the 2008 non-prosecution agreement that allowed him to maintain his jet-set lifestyle that includes a Bentley and homes in Paris and the US Virgin Islands, where he owns an island.

As the saga moves back into public view, famous names in politics and business are likely to come under the spotlight.

Trump, a one-time member of Epstein’s social set, told New York magazine in 2002 he was a “terrific guy” he had known for 15 years.


Clinton often flew in Epstein’s private plane and visited his island. Neither are mentioned in the indictment.

Davidoff Studios/Getty Images
Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump in 1997.


The Miami Herald cast new light on Epstein’s abuses in a three-part expose in November and identified 80 women who said he abused them.

Its investigation revealed Epstein’s friendships, private meetings and other ties with famous people.

In court filings, the FBI identified more than 100 of his victims, according to the Herald.

Prosecutors in New York are seeking the forfeiture of Epstein’s mansion, a seven-storey, 21,000-square-foot townhouse less than a block from Central Park.

The home, formerly a prep school, is across the street from a home owned by Bill Cosby and has been valued at approximately US$77m.

Earlier deal 

In 2005, police in Palm Beach, Florida, received reports that Epstein had sexually abused underage girls in his home in the area.

Two years on, Epstein was facing a potential indictment for sexually abusing dozens of girls between 1999 and 2007, directing others to abuse them, and paying employees to bring victims to him, according to court filings.


Prosecutors involved in that agreement, which has been criticised by Epstein’s accusers, included Alex Acosta, then the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and now a member of Trump’s Cabinet.

In February, a federal judge in Florida called the deal illegal. Even so, the Department of Justice said in a June court filing that there was no reason to cancel it.


The indictment alleges Epstein engaged in a twisted ritual of abuse.

He would have girls escorted to one of his homes, according to the document, where they would be forced to perform massages on him and engage in sexual behavior. He would then allegedly pay them hundreds of dollars.

“Epstein incentivised his victims to become recruiters by paying these victim recruiters hundreds of dollars for each girl that they brought,” the indictment states.

“In so doing, Epstein maintained a steady supply of new victims to exploit.”

