Author shares outrage in case

James Patterson, who co-wrote a book on Jeffrey Epstein, calls the tale ‘horrifying.’

Thriller author James Patterson has spoken out about the recent arrest of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier charged with sex trafficking of minors and the subject of a 2016 book by Patterson.

“This story is about justice breaking down, the justice system breaking down and about how could we, since 2006, not pay attention to this story,” Patterson said on the CBSN show “Red & Blue” on Tuesday.

Epstein, a hedge fund manager with an array of powerful friends, was arrested on Saturday and charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty, and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.

In 2016, Patterson and coauthors John Connolly and Tim Malloy published a book about the case, “Filthy Rich: A Powerful Billionaire, the Sex Scandal That Undid Him, and All the Justice that Money Can Buy: The Shocking True Story of Jeffrey Epstein.”

Patterson said his interest in Epstein was spurred by the financier’s previous indictment on a solicitation of prostitution charge in 2006. Two years later, in a then-secret plea deal offered by R. Alexander Acosta — a U.S. attorney at the time who is now the U.S. secretary of Labor — Epstein ended up serving 13 months in prison, during which he was allowed to work at his office during daytime hours.

“What got me into this was a lot of people had been so hurt by the original situation in 2006, when he kind of got off for 13 months,” Patterson told CBSN. “When you see the pattern that goes from 2003 or so or maybe earlier ... that’s a long time to be obsessed with young girls.”

Patterson told Fox News host Dana Perino, “It’s horrifying. These are girls, allegedly hundreds of girls.” He added that he “would be surprised if Epstein didn’t spend a fair amount of time in jail.”

As of Thursday morning, “Filthy Rich” was No. 130 among all books on Amazon.