NEW YORK (Reuters) – American financier Jeffrey Epstein pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of sex trafficking as prosecutors accused him of luring dozens of girls as young as 14 to his luxury homes in New York and Florida and paying them for sex acts.
An indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan accused Epstein, 66, of arranging for girls to perform nude “massages” and other sex acts, and paying some girls to recruit others, from at least 2002 to 2005.
The former hedge fund manager “intentionally sought out minors and knew that many of his victims were in fact under the age of 18, including because, in some instances, minor victims expressly told him their age,” the indictment said.
Known for socializing with politicians and royalty, Epstein’s friends once included U.S. President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, and according to court papers Britain’s Prince Andrew. None of those people was mentioned in the indictment.
Wearing dark blue jail scrubs, Epstein entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Pitman to one count of sex trafficking and one count of sex trafficking conspiracy. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
“The alleged behavior shocks the conscience, and while the charged conduct is from a number of years ago, it is still profoundly important to the many alleged victims, now young women,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said at a press conference. “They deserve their day in court.”
Prosecutors told Pitman that Epstein does not deserve bail and should be detained pending trial, saying he posed an “extraordinary risk of flight” because of his wealth, ownership of private planes, and significant international ties.
Pitman did not rule on the request, but will reconsider the matter at a Thursday afternoon hearing. Epstein will remain in jail until then.
Epstein has said in earlier court filings that his encounters with alleged victims were consensual and that he believed they were 18 when they occurred.
MANHATTAN MANSION SEARCH
Epstein was arrested here on Saturday night at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, where he had returned on his private plane from Paris.
Prosecutors said a search of Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan, conducted under a search warrant, uncovered evidence of hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of nude photographs of “what appeared to be underage girls,” including some photos cataloged on compact discs and kept in a locked safe.
Berman encouraged other victims to come forward and contact prosecutors.
The case is being handled by the public corruption unit of Berman’s office.
Berman declined to discuss media speculation about people affiliated or associated with Epstein, telling reporters: “I urge you not to read into that one way or the other.”
Trump praised Epstein in an interview with New York magazine in 2002.
“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump said. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
EARLIER DEAL
Epstein first came under investigation in 2005 after police in Palm Beach, Florida, received reports he had sexually abused underage girls in his mansion there.
By 2007, Epstein was facing a potential federal indictment for sexually abusing dozens of girls between 1999 and 2007, directing others to abuse them, and paying employees to bring victims to him, according to court filings.
However, Epstein struck a deal to plead guilty in 2008 to a lesser Florida state felony prostitution charge. He served 13 months in a county jail, but was allowed to leave during the day to go to his office, and agreed to register as a sex offender.
Some of Epstein’s accusers have criticized that agreement as too lenient. U.S. Attorney Berman said he was not bound by it.
Reid Weingarten, a lawyer for Epstein, told the magistrate judge that his client had led a “law-abiding life” since 2008, and that the indictment appeared to be “essentially a do-over.”
Prosecutors who helped craft the Florida agreement included Alex Acosta, then the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and now Trump’s Secretary of Labor. A spokeswoman for the Labor Department declined to comment on Sunday.
‘MASSAGES’
Epstein would initially recruit victims to provide “massages,” which they would perform nude or partially nude, the indictment said.
Prosecutors said the encounters would become increasingly sexual in nature, sometimes including groping and indirect contact with victims’ genitals, where Epstein would typically masturbate and ask victims to touch him while he did.
Epstein paid girls to recruit new girls, to ensure a “steady supply of new victims to exploit” prosecutors said.
Three unnamed employees, one in Manhattan and two in Palm Beach, aided Epstein by arranging some of his sexual encounters, the indictment said. Several of Epstein’s accusers said that in the Florida deal, they were denied a chance to express their views, violating the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act. In February of this year, a U.S. district judge in Florida agreed, saying the deal was illegal.
Even so, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a court filing last month there was no reason to cancel the agreement.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives confronted Acosta about his role in April, during a hearing before a House subcommittee on a routine budget matter.
Acosta told lawmakers that human trafficking was “an incredibly important issue,” and that his office’s efforts ensured that Epstein would be punished.
“I understand the frustration,” Acosta said. “It’s important to understand that he was going to get off with no jail time or restitution. It was the work of our office that resulted in him going to jail.”
The Justice Department is investigating whether government lawyers committed professional misconduct in the Florida case.
Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool