The New York Justice Department published this Wednesday a first batch of the hundreds of court documents related to the deceased billionaire Jeffrey Epstein who was accused of trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, and who had been classified until now.
(You can read: What do Jeffrey Epstein's documents say about Clinton, Trump and Prince Andrew?)
With this revelation, his name is once again on the front pages of the media around the world. And is not for less. Epstein's is a case that has transcended the seriousness of the complaints of his victims and the alleged network of sexual trafficking of minors that would include figures from politics and entertainment.
Billionaire, successful investor and well connected in the American political and economic sphere, Epstein began his career as a mathematics and physics teacher at the Dalton School in New York.
(You can read: Jeffrey Epstein: download the declassified files that name several famous people)
On the recommendation of the father of one of his students, in 1976 he joined the investment bank Bear Stearns, where he rose to become a partner in the firm. It was there where he built his network of contacts among the wealthiest people in the United States.
From there he advised the richest clients on the tax implications of his investments and ended up expanding his contacts to the point that in 1982 he launched his own investment firm: J. Epstein and Co.which accepted only clients with assets exceeding $1 billion, and was an instant success.
(Also: Jeffrey Epstein Case: the names of celebrities and politicians in declassified documents)
Jeffrey Epstein, accused of trafficking and sexual abuse of minors.
Epstein soon began to amass a fortune. He bought a mansion in Florida, an estate in New Mexico and one of the largest private homes in Manhattan. His social life, in parallel, expanded and he rubbed shoulders with celebrities, artists and politicians of the highest level.
He Prince Andrew of England or former presidents of the United States Bill Clinton and Donald Trumpp are just some of those close to Epstein. Their names, in fact, appeared mentioned in the files declassified this Wednesday.
(You can read: Report concludes that 'serious flaws' in prison allowed Jeffrey Epstein's suicide)
But her life of luxury was overshadowed in 2005, when the parents of a 14-year-old girl told Florida police that Epstein had sexually abused their daughter at their Palm Beach home. The minor told what happened and identified two other girls who were in the house that same day, who in turn identified others.
Before Florida police escalated the case to the FBI They had already identified three dozen possible victims. However, in 2008 prosecutors reached a controversial agreement with the billionaire, who only pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. And so he managed to avoid federal sex trafficking charges by accepting 13 months in prison and being placed on the federal sex offender registry. Epstein escaped a possible life sentence.
The magnate is responsible for having taken, at least between 2002 and 2005, girls and young women, some as young as 14, to his residences in Manhattan, Palm Beach (Florida) and the Caribbean “to participate in sexual acts with him.” ” and for friends in exchange for “hundreds of dollars in cash.
His death and the failures that were evident
In July 2019, the case returned to public light after Epstein was arrested in New York. Police arrested him when he landed on his private plane, returning from his vacation in Europe. At the time, prosecutors were seeking to seize his mansion in that city, where some of his alleged crimes occurred.
The court then denied him bail and the billionaire was held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. Epstein was accused of trafficking dozens of girls, sexually exploiting and abusing them, and even paying them to pick up other teenage girls..
Epstein always maintained that he believed that they were all over 18 years old and that sexual relations were consensual.
(Also: Jeffrey Epstein: why JP Morgan agreed to pay US $290 million to the magnate's victims)
Still in custody, the billionaire was once taken to the hospital for what were reportedly neck injuries, on which neither prison officials nor his lawyers gave any official comment.
In what was his last appearance in court, on July 31 of that year, it was clear that the magnate would spend at least a year in prison since the trial against him would not be held until the summer of 2020.
But everything took a turn on August 10. Epstein was found dead in his cell. The official autopsy results confirmed that The cause of his death was suicide by hanging.. The billionaire was then awaiting trial for allegedly creating a sex trafficking ring of minors in his mansions in New York and Florida.
Epstein was found on the floor of his cell around 6:30 a.m. local time that Saturday. He New York Times He reported that the special unit guards had fallen asleep the night before.
Before his death, Epstein pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
British Ghislaine Maxwell and deceased tycoon Jeffrey Epstein.
American authorities had initially described his death as an “apparent suicide”, but this did not prevent numerous conspiracy theories from emerging.
His death occurred after a suicide attempt on July 23 that forced the authorities to transfer him to a special wing of the prison on the recommendation of a team of psychologists.
The Department of Justice immediately began an investigation to determine how Epstein could have taken a life at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, which is considered a high security prison in New York. At the time, US Attorney General and Attorney General William Barr spoke of “serious irregularities” at the facility, which housed other high-profile detainees such as Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán and Bernie Madoff.
A report from the US Department of Justice from mid-last year noted that There were “numerous and serious failures” by the staff in charge of Epstein's custodywhich caused the magnate “to be unattended and alone in his cell with an excessive amount of bedding, from approximately 10:40 p.m. on August 9 until he was found hanged in his locked cell on August 10. August around 06:30 hours”.
The report relates that Epstein had been left alone in his cell on the 9th and the staff “did not ensure” that he was immediately assigned to someone else. These failures, he continues, “constitute misconduct and negligence in the fulfillment of his obligations,” particularly with a detainee “as high-profile” as Epstein.
The investigation also concluded that the center staff did not make any rounds in the cell again after 10:40 at night, despite the fact that it is mandatory to do so every 30 minutes, nor did they ensure the proper functioning of the surveillance cameras. the jail.
And yet, prison staff “falsified records and round sheets to show that they had been taken when they had not, leaving Epstein unguarded for hours before his death,” the findings maintain.
Nevertheless, Investigators did not “find evidence that contradicts” that of the FBI (federal police) and the medical examiner's office who concluded that Epstein committed suicide by hanging.
But the investigation does lambast the “troubling” rulings not only for failing to “adequately protect a person in their custody, but also because they led to questions about the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death and effectively deprived Epstein's numerous victims of the opportunity to seek justice through the criminal justice process.
WILLIAM MORENO HERNÁNDEZ
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
*With information from AFP and EFE
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