The real-estate tycoon and former lover of Oprah Winfrey will face sex trafficking charges of at least 16 women, some as young as 13
As the trial of Jeffrey Epstein prepares to get underway in federal court, his victims and prosecutors have said he is the “centre” of an intricate sex trafficking scheme involving both children and powerful men.
Epstein, who is charged with sex trafficking victims under the age of 16, was found in 2017 guilty of procuring a minor for prostitution, but never released. He faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison for those crimes, plus a raft of charges under Florida law involving several minors.
The hearing in West Palm Beach this week will hear the prosecutors rebut the defense’s case that Epstein was entrapped by two under-aged girls who pressured the politician-turned-property tycoon into having sexual encounters with them. The defense team is trying to downplay the extent of the alleged abuse, and to cast doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Epstein has been described by prosecutors as “the center of a sprawling criminal enterprise that abused not only a handful of children, but dozens of women who were increasingly ‘used’ for Epstein’s sexual gratification”. The then 47-year-old billionaire also invited men with high political connections to his Florida estate, so that they could have sexual encounters with numerous teenage girls.
Winfrey, who found personal fortune on talk shows that featured her encounters with celebrities and that later turned into a $75m media empire, was one of those caught up in Epstein’s alleged offenses.
The hugely wealthy businessman and philanthropist was unable to pay the legal bills incurred by his many victims who turned up in court in response to requests for damages. According to the prosecutors and the victims they will seek millions of dollars in compensation.
Epstein is married with two children, and a judge has ruled that he can serve his sentence at home. Epstein’s lawyer Walter Tear dismissed the prosecution’s claims that he was the mastermind of the operation.
“Every utterance about Mr Epstein and all the facts alleged in the case is based on hearsay,” Tear told the court. “If some things were true, they must have been invented. There is no physical evidence of any kind.”
He accused Epstein’s accusers of “abuse of process”.
“There is simply no proof to support any of the allegations, and there is no evidence to support any of the claims with respect to the accused,” he added.
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Tear’s team successfully depicted the women who came forward in his favor as unreliable. Two of the women, who admitted lying about their predilections to support a litany of allegations, testified that the larger picture that emerged after a four-year investigation failed to support their case.
Epstein is expected to appear in court on Wednesday. A hearing will take place on Wednesday and Thursday to determine the validity of motions to exclude certain evidence against him.
The trial is expected to last until the end of February.