Epstein ‘in £280k bid to silence child sex case witnesses’
Scandal grows as prosecutors say disgraced billionaire paid off pair to stay quiet
DISGRACED billionaire Jeffrey Epstein allegedly tried to buy the silence of two potential witnesses who saw him engage in child sex acts, prosecutors claim.
In court papers filed in New York on Friday, it is claimed that Prince Andrew’s former friend Epstein – who faces up to 45 years on child sex trafficking charges – paid around £280,000 to two people, including a former employee, in a bid to ‘influence’ them.
Prosecutors say two payments were made at the end of last year around the same time that a devastating exposé in the Miami Herald newspaper highlighted 80 women who claimed the hedge fund boss had sexually abused them – with several saying they were as young as 14 at the time.
The billionaire is set to have another bail hearing tomorrow.
His lawyers have offered to put up his £61million Manhattan townhouse, where he allegedly abused dozens of girls, and his private plane dubbed the ‘Lolita Express’, as collateral.
Epstein, 66, was arrested on July 6 and charged with forcing girls under 18 to perform sex acts on him and his friends at his homes in New York, Florida and on his private isle in the US Virgin Islands dubbed ‘Paedophile Island’. Epstein faced similar charges in 2007 but agreed to a controversial plea-bargain which saw him plead guilty to one prostitution charge and serve just 13 months in county jail – a deal which also allowed him to return home on day release.
Donald Trump’s Labour Secretary, Alex Acosta, who authorised the plea deal, resigned on Friday as the scandal deepened.
The latest court papers claim that Epstein paid £200,000 to ‘one of the defendant’s employees’ and £80,000 to another possible ‘co-conspirator’.
‘The course of action and, in particular, its timing suggest the defendant was attempting to further influence co-conspirators who might provide information against him,’ the documents said.
Prosecutors claim the financier – currently being held without bail in the same New York jail as drug kingpin Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman – tried to pay one of his victims to stay quiet during the original 2006 probe into his child sex crimes.
The new documents cite a Palm Beach Police report from the time saying an Epstein associate tracked down the girl telling her the billionaire would pay for her silence: ‘Those who help him will be compensated and those who hurt him will be dealt with,’ the report said.
One of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Roberts, claims Epstein and his then girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of the late newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, ‘forced’ her to have sex with Prince Andrew.
The prince has vehemently denied ever having sex with Ms Roberts. Ms Maxwell denies she helped ‘recruit’ girls for her former boyfriend.
Epstein was photographed with the Prince walking through Central Park in 2010 shortly after his release from his original jail term and Andrew is said to have attended a party at Epstein’s New York home around the same time.
Last week, a Buckingham Palace spokesman insisted the Prince had not met Epstein since the 2010 photograph was taken.
The scandal has engulfed several high-profile figures, including Bill Clinton, who travelled on Epstein’s private jet 26 times, and President Trump.
Mr Trump once described Epstein as ‘a terrific guy’ but last week said he has not spoken to him in 15 years.
Thousands of documents connected with Epstein’s original case are set to be unsealed.
They are said to include charges that a former prime minister was involved in a child sex ring.
Epstein’s lawyers did not respond to calls seeking comment on the ‘bribery’ claims.