With the new year, the Department of Justice is working on releasing the Jeffery Epstein files, a compilation of evidence against one of the largest child-sex offenders in the world. This was following several of his child victims coming forward and calling on the public to help them find justice for his crimes.
Jeffery Epstein, deceased at the age of 66 years old, was a billion dollar American financier for large corporations and a variety of multibillionaires. In 2006, his crimes were brought forward after a 14-year-old girl accused Epstein of sexually assaulting her while she gave him a massage at his private property in Palm Beach, Florida.
It was later confirmed by officials that Epstein did pay a young girl 200 US dollars for a massage. However, during the massage he would sexually assault her, then offer them another 200 US dollars if she could bring him another girl. This cycle would continue for several years, with more instances than the one detailed. The Federal Government is now confirming that there are approximately 1000 women who have come forward to report his crimes.
This number does not include all of the victims who were never able to come forward to report their crimes. Several survivors unfortunately committed suicide in the past years, while others refuse to come forward to protect their privacy. This is largely related to the lack of protection that these women are given. If they decided to speak up they could face extreme criticism from the public and parties involved with Epstein who would want to protect their appearances. It’s not uncommon for victims of sexual assault to be pressured by lawyers out of court to take the fault for crimes done against them.
1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime; however, less than 5 percent of these women report their assaults.
The Department of Justice has officially released over 3 million pages that were included in the files that related to Epstein’s crimes. All of his crimes were documented extensively as a result of Epstein being frequently arrested on sexual-assault-related charges.
Despite the evidence brought forth, Epstein’s trial was never able to proceed due to his death in 2019. Epstein would be pronounced dead in a Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), Manhattan, New York, jail cell. His death was ultimately ruled to be a suicide by hanging.
Epstein was not a lone actor in these crimes. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s wife, was heavily involved in Epstein’s criminal history according to the several brave survivors who have spoken out about her actions. They were ultimately able to convict her of her crimes in 2021, where she was sentenced to 20 years in a prison cell for crimes relating to sexually trafficking minors. She is currently in the Federal Prison Camp (FPC), Bryan, Texas.
The New York Times has identified more than 5,300 files containing a minimum of 38,000 references to Donald Trump, the current United States of America President, Melania Trump, the current First Lady, and his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. For reference, Jesus is mentioned in the Bible approximately 1000 times. Harry Potter is mentioned roughly 18,956 times throughout all seven of novels. The work “Mockingbird” is stated about 6 times in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
While Epstein cannot stand trial and face his actions, all of his accomplices should face their consequences. These women have faced indescribable amounts of trauma and the public are outraged that this information is only now coming forward to the light after Trump was elected to serve his second term as President.
It is easy to forget that the victims coming forward were children when the crimes occurred. They were young girls that should have been protected, but were betrayed and hurt by the people in power that are in charge of protecting them. We cannot let such high profile and widespread crimes leave the public conscious, and the public should find ways to help support these victims. A better system is needed to prevent such actions from happening in the first place, and, with pressure from the people, that system can be achieved.
