Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein Indicted on Federal Sex-Trafficking Charges
Accusations relate to alleged activities at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and his Palm Beach estate between 2002 and 2005
Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier long dogged by allegations of sexual abuse involving underage girls, has been indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Mr. Epstein was arrested Saturday and is due to appear in court Monday; the indictment was unsealed Monday morning. A lawyer for Mr. Epstein couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan allege Mr. Epstein ran an operation that allowed him to sexually exploit dozens of underage girls—some as young as 14 years old—sometimes paying them in cash for sex acts, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors allege Mr. Epstein used employees and some of his victims to recruit other young women and girls into his network.
The 14-page indictment details how Mr. Epstein allegedly set up massage tables at his homes, arranging encounters with the girls that steadily progressed to masturbation and sex.