Multimillionaire sex trafficking sadist Jeffrey Epstein brought young girls to his Virgin Islands retreat as recently as 2018 and kept a database of nearby underage victims, a new lawsuit filed by the Virgin Islands Attorney General charges.
The 49-page civil suit filed against Epstein’s estate provides new, disturbing details about Epstein’s sophisticated, supervillain-style sex trafficking operation on his private island of Little St. James. Young girls were lured to the island, which was only accessible by boat or helicopter, under the guise of good money for harmless massages of the powerful financier with famous friends, the suit says. But once the girls arrived they couldn’t escape and were allegedly subjected to “sexual servitude.”
The suit cites two chilling episodes in which Epstein’s victims tried to escape the island hellhole. A 15-year-old victim was forced into sex acts and then tried to swim off of the island, only to be found by a search party, the suit states. Epstein and his cronies allegedly held the girl captive and confiscated her passport. Epstein suggested another girl who had been captured after attempting to escape be physically restrained or harmed if she didn’t cooperate, according to the suit.
The hedge funder even bought the neighboring island, Great St. James, in 2016 for $20 million to avoid scrutiny, according to the suit from Denise George, attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Epstein enterprise “wanted to ensure that the island did not become a base from which others could view their activities or visitors,” the suit reads.
As recently as 2018, air traffic controllers reported seeing Epstein with girls that appeared between the ages of 11 and 18, the suit states. Epstein killed himself behind bars in Manhattan this summer while awaiting trial for sex trafficking allegations involving conduct only as recent as 2005.
The Virgin Islands Attorney General seeks to seize both islands from Epstein’s estate through the suit.
“Upon information and belief, the Epstein Enterprise kept a computerized list of underage girls who were in proximate to the Virgin Islands, and able to be transported to Epstein’s residence on Little St. James,” the complaint reads. At least one of the victims on the list was as young as 11, the suit says.
George said at a press conference that her investigation was separate from ongoing probes by the federal government. The suit names various corporations and LLCs Epstein allegedly used to conceal his depraved sex trafficking scheme.
“Epstein’s victims deserve answers and accountability. The people of the Virgin Islands deserve accountability,” George said.
“The Virgin Islands is not and will not be a safe haven for human trafficking or sexual exploitation.”
The isolation of Epstein’s island made ensuring the registered sex offender complied with the law very difficult, according to the lawsuit.
“Monitoring a sex offender with his own private islands and the resources to fly victims in and out on private planes and helicopters presented unique challenges,” the suit states.
In July 2018, Epstein refused to allow Virgin Islands investigators and U.S. Marshals to enter Little St. James beyond its dock, claiming the landing was his “front door,” according to the suit. Epstein then arranged to meet authorities at his office on St. Thomas.
The suit seeks a cut of Epstein’s $577 million estate for the Virgin Islands government. Epstein’s renovations on his islands without proper permits have caused major environmental damage — the extent of which still isn’t clear.
“As a result of its deplorable and unlawful conduct, the Epstein Enterprise has subjected the Virgin Islands to public portrayals as a hiding place for human trafficking and sex crimes,” the suit reads.
Even after his death, Epstein’s estate has sought to minimize publicity by proposing a confidential claims program for victims that will keep their cases out of court, the suit argues. The co-executors of Epstein’s countered that the program only imposed confidentiality on the estate — not the victims.
“The suggestion that the program was intended to conceal any information or to shield anyone from liability or accountability is unfounded, directly contrary to the details of the proposed program, and false,” the co-executors, Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, said in a statement.
