Nude photos of young women seized from financier’s mansion
NEW YORK — Investigators seized nude photographs of young women from the Manhattan town house of financier Jeffrey Epstein as part of a new investigation into allegations he exploited dozens of minors for sex, prosecutors revealed Monday.
That detail was disclosed by federal prosecutors as they unsealed an indictment charging Epstein with sex trafficking and made an appeal to other women who may have been abused by him to come forward.
“They deserve their day in court, and we are proud to stand up for them by bringing this indictment,” said Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan.
Hundreds, and possibly thousands, of “sexually suggestive” pictures of nude or partially nude young women and girls were found during a search of Epstein’s Manhattan town house Saturday, conducted at roughly the same time he was arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, prosecutors said.
The indictment accuses Epstein, 66, of engaging in sex acts with dozens of vulnerable minors, some as young as 14, during naked massage sessions, then paying them hundreds of dollars in cash. He also asked some of the girls to recruit other underage girls, the indictment said.
“In this way, Epstein created a vast network of underage victims for him to sexually exploit in locations including New York and Palm Beach,” the indictment states.
Berman’s decision to seek an indictment in Manhattan was an implicit rebuke to the decision by prosecutors in Miami in 2008 to enter an agreement with Epstein that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and a possible life sentence.
Under that deal, Epstein pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges and spent about a year in a Palm Beach, Florida, jail and was required to register as a sex offender. He was permitted to leave the facility six days a week to work.
Epstein is charged with sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy. He faces a combined maximum sentence of up to 45 years in prison if convicted. Berman said prosecutors would seek to have Epstein held without bail, given his immense wealth and access to private jets.
The government also said in court papers that prosecutors have “real concerns,” based on past experience, that Epstein, if freed on bail, could attempt to “pressure and intimidate” witnesses, including his accusers and their families. Prosecutors are also seeking the forfeiture of Epstein’s town house mansion.