Miami, Florida – A new set of court documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were unsealed on Thursday, shedding light on how girls were recruited to go to his Florida home. This release follows the unveiling of 942 pages of filings on Wednesday, which included public testimony from multiple individuals involved in a settled lawsuit concerning Epstein. The newly disclosed documents consist of 19 exhibits, comprising 327 pages of previously sealed information.
The most recent filings primarily focus on statements made by Palm Beach police Det. Joseph Recarey about Epstein’s recruitment of girls to give massages in his home. According to one deposition, a woman, whose name has been redacted, claimed that Epstein undressed her without her consent during their first encounter. Recarey’s filings also revealed that he interviewed approximately 33 women, the majority of whom were under 18 years old and had little to no experience in massage therapy.
The previously unsealed documents from Wednesday mentioned Epstein’s past associations with former President Bill Clinton, former President Donald Trump, and Britain’s Prince Andrew, although none of them have been accused of any wrongdoing. The released records are tied to a 2015 lawsuit filed by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Giuffre was among the many women who sued Epstein for the abuse they endured at his residences in Florida, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and New Mexico. The particular lawsuit in question targeted Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and accomplice, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her involvement in recruiting and exploiting his victims.
Giuffre, in her deposition, recounted how she was lured away from her job at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club when she turned 17 and was coerced into becoming a “masseuse” for Epstein, which entailed engaging in sexual acts. She further alleged that she was pressured into having intercourse with various individuals associated with Epstein, including Prince Andrew, a second unidentified prince, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, the owner of a major hotel chain, and billionaire hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin. All the accused men have denied her claims.
The newly released filings also contain the testimony of Johanna Sjoberg, another Epstein accuser, who stated that she met Michael Jackson at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence, but nothing inappropriate occurred between them. Sjoberg added that Epstein once remarked to her that “Clinton likes them young.” However, there is no evidence suggesting that Clinton ever visited Epstein’s island or engaged in any improper behavior. In response to the release of these documents, a spokesperson for Clinton referred to a previous statement affirming that the former president never visited Epstein’s homes, had no knowledge of his criminal activities, and had not spoken to him in over a decade.
Additionally, the deposition of Maxwell revealed her denial of most of Giuffre’s accusations and her absence of knowledge regarding Epstein’s unlawful actions. The records from Wednesday also mentioned Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and close associate of Epstein, who was awaiting trial on charges of raping underage girls before his death in a Paris prison in 2022.
Alan Dershowitz, a law professor and Epstein’s former attorney, also came under scrutiny in the newly unredacted filings. Former staff members of Epstein testified in sworn statements that Dershowitz frequently visited Epstein’s Florida mansion and received massages during his visits. However, Dershowitz maintains his innocence and denies any involvement with underage girls. He has expressed anticipation for the release of the documents to clear his name. Giuffre herself withdrew an accusation she had previously made against Dershowitz in 2022, admitting that she may have made an error in identifying him as an abuser.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, was arrested in 2005 in Palm Beach on charges of paying a 14-year-old girl for sex. Although numerous other underage girls reported similar sexual abuse, he ultimately pleaded guilty in 2008 to a single charge involving one victim and served 13 months in a work-release program. After his conviction, some high-profile individuals distanced themselves from Epstein, while others maintained affiliations with him. In 2019, federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein with sex trafficking, and he died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial. Ghislaine Maxwell was subsequently prosecuted for her involvement in recruiting Epstein’s underage victims and was convicted in 2021.
In conclusion, the newly unsealed court documents provide additional details on Jeffrey Epstein’s recruitment and abuse of young girls, as well as the involvement of various individuals connected to him. These revelations add to the ongoing scrutiny surrounding Epstein’s extensive network of associates and the question of who else may have been involved in his criminal activities.