Jeffrey Epstein arrested in New York on charges related to sex trafficking
Investment manager Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in New York Saturday on federal charges related to sex trafficking, CBS News has confirmed. The financier has long been accused of sexually abusing underage girls, and in 2007, he pleaded guilty to two prostitution counts in a Florida court as part of a controversial deal to avoid federal charges.
Epstein is expected to appear in a New York federal court on Monday, but the situation is fluid. The news of Epstein's arrest was first reported by The Daily Beast.
Epstein is a wealthy hedge fund manager who once counted as friends former President Bill Clinton, Great Britain's Prince Andrew, and President Trump.
One of the officials said Epstein is accused of paying underage girls for massages and molesting them at his homes in Florida and New York. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the pending case.
A message was sent to Epstein's defense attorney seeking comment.
The arrest comes amid renewed scrutiny of a once-secret plea deal that ended a federal investigation against him.
That deal, which is being challenged in Florida federal court, allowed Epstein, who is now 66, to plead guilty to lesser state charges of soliciting and procuring a person under age 18 for prostitution.
He avoided federal charges with a possible life sentence and instead was sentenced to 13 months in jail. The deal also required he reach financial settlements with dozens of his once-teenage victims and register as a sex offender.
Epstein's deal was overseen by former Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who is now Mr. Trump's labor secretary. Acosta has defended the plea deal as appropriate under the circumstances, though the White House said in February that it was "looking into" his handling of the deal.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra of Florida ruled earlier this year that Epstein's victims should have been consulted under federal law about the deal, and he is now weighing whether to invalidate the non-prosecution agreement, or NPA, that protected Epstein from federal charges.
It was not immediately clear whether the cases involved the same victims since nearly all have remained anonymous.
Federal prosecutors recently filed court papers in Florida case contending Epstein's deal must stand.
"The past cannot be undone; the government committed itself to the NPA, and the parties have not disputed that Epstein complied with its provisions," prosecutors wrote in the filing.
They acknowledged, however, that the failure to consult victims "fell short of the government's dedication to serve victims to the best of its ability" and that prosecutors "should have communicated with the victims in a straightforward and transparent way."
The victims in the Florida case have until Monday to respond to the Justice Department's filing.
According to court records in Florida, authorities say at least 40 underage girls were brought into Epstein's Palm Beach mansion for what turned into sexual encounters after female fixers looked for suitable girls locally and in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world.
Some girls were also allegedly brought to Epstein's homes in New York City, New Mexico and a private Caribbean island, according to court documents.
Saturday's arrest also came just days after a federal appeals court in New York ordered the unsealing of nearly 2,000 pages of records in a since-settled defamation case involving Epstein.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, who had called on the Justice Department to investigate Epstein's deal, released a statement Saturday calling for Epstein to be held without bail pending trial.
"This monster received a pathetically soft sentence last time and his victims deserve nothing less than justice," Sasse said in the statement. "Justice doesn't depend on the size of your bank account."