South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Epstein’s accusers still want justice — from everyone involved. 21A
Justice may not die with alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Lawmakers and lawyers for Epstein’s victims pledged Saturday to hold others accountable in a farflung sex ring suspected of furnishing girls to powerful and privileged men the world over.
Some saw Epstein’s apparent suicide in a New York prison Saturday as his ultimate escape from responsibility.
“The victims of Epstein’s heinous actions deserved an opportunity for justice,” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said in a statement on Saturday morning. “Today, that opportunity was denied.”
But others hope opportunities remain to pursue Epstein’s inner ring of co-conspirators and a justice system that many believe failed to give Epstein a proper punishment over a decade ago.
“The death of Jeffrey Epstein does not end the need for justice for his victims or the right of the public to
know why a prolific child molester got a slap on the wrist instead of a long prison sentence,” Florida congresswoman Lois Frankel said Saturday.
Frankel referred to a 2007 “sweetheart” deal Epstein received from the state of Florida to avoid harsh penalties for hiring local underage girls in Palm Beach for erotic messages and sex and to dodge a federal sex abuse investigation involving at least 40 teenage girls.
Instead of the more than
15 years in prison that many hoped he would receive, Epstein was jailed for 13 months of an 18-month sentence and served a year of house arrest as a result of the deal.
Epstein’s time in prison at a Palm Beach County stockade has come under increased scrutiny.
About four months into his sentence during 2008 and 2009, it was revealed that Epstein was allowed to spend up to 12 hours a day, six days a week working out of a downtown West Palm Beach office. But deputy logs revealed Epstein visited his Palm Beach mansion at least nine times.
The terms of Epstein’s work release have been under criminal investigation since July 23. On Aug. 6, The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced that it would take over the investigation.
A FDLE spokeswoman said Saturday that Epstein’s death will not halt that investigation. “Our case is active and will move forward,” the spokeswoman said.
In addition to the investigation into Epstein’s previous incarceration, pending litigation in West Palm Beach also lingers after Epstein’s death.
After years of legal battles, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra ruled in February that Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement in 2007 violated the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
As a result of that ruling, Marra must consider how rectify the violation. One option is to strike down parts of the controversial deal that gave Epstein’s unnamed co-conspirators immunity from federal charges.
Michael Fisten, a private investigator who works for Brad Edwards, a lawyer associated with the open case, said Saturday that he is confident the case will continue after Epstein’s death. Fisten said the case is important because it could potentially expose Epstein’s co-conspirators, who he believes need to face penalties for allowing Epstein to operate.
State Sen. Lauren Book agreed. “In life and in death, Jeffrey Epstein did everything he could to escape accountability and silence survivors,” Book said. “And he didn’t do it alone.”
Book continued to pledge to pursue those who assisted Epstein in his “sick criminal acts” until “every last criminal has been caught.”
Spencer Kurvin, a Palm Beach attorney who represented three of Epstein’s victims over a decade ago, also hopes Epstein’s death Saturday is not the end of this story.
“Whenever someone like this perpetuates crime on such a vast scale, there are people assisting and looking the other way,” Kurvin said.
On Friday, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Britain’s Prince Andrew and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson were among those named in thousands of court documents that were unsealed in a lawsuit against a woman accused of being Epstein’s fixer.
Kurvin cited the documents and said that even after Epstein’s death there should be a “full accounting” into his inner circle.
Kurvin, said all three of the victims he represented, as well as the over 40 who have alleged crimes against Epstein, wanted to see him stand trial.
He spoke to one former victim Saturday who he described as frustrated by Epstein’s death. But Epstein death did provide the victim with a certain amount of closure, he said. “It’s the end for him,” Kuvin said.
Staff writer Skyler Swisher contributed to this report.