Epstein and His Co-Conspirators' New York Crimes: What NY Officials Can Now Do

https://www.justsecurity.org/133761/epstein-co-conspirators-new-york/

For nearly twenty-five years, Jeffrey Epstein’s townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side served as a base of operations for the horrific trafficking and sexual abuse of girls and young women. Despite leading a high-profile life, Epstein carried out his activities under the nose of New York’s law enforcement authorities.

With no hope in sight for justice at the federal level, it is time for New York state and local officials to take up the mantle of seeking truth and accountability for the crimes committed by Epstein and his co-conspirators – and to reckon with its own law enforcement failures. There are four options New York can now undertake under state law.

The New York Crimes

An enormous amount of the heinous offenses committed by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell occurred in New York, as their federal indictments showcase. The Manhattan townhouse was an epicenter.

Information from the survivors – in FBI interviews and civil lawsuits (such as Virginia Giuffre’s complaint) – make clear that Manhattan was a place where other men allegedly sexually abused the girls and young women who were caught in Epstein’s lair. As one indicator: the “New York residence” appears 45 times in the SDNY federal prosecutor’s 86-page internal memorandum entitled, “Investigation into Potential Co-Conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein.” That document was filed over six years ago, and significant evidence has emerged since then. What’s more, criminal probes now underway in several countries are likely to produce even more information that could be shared with New York prosecutors.

Lost Time?: The “Stand Down” Directive

New York’s law enforcement authorities also have plenty of leads that have been left unexplored in their own backyard. That may be due in part, as I recently noted, because the FBI “directed” the New York City Police Department to “stand down” its Epstein work in July 2019 five days after Epstein’s arrest, emails released by the Justice Department show. The FBI “assumed” the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office would stand down as well following the directive, another email shows.

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