Jeffrey Epstein allegedly sexually abused and trafficked young girls on his private Caribbean island as recently as 2018, according to a new lawsuit filed by the attorney general of the US Virgin Islands. Epstein’s lawyers have insisted that, after his plea deal in
Florida in 2008, Epstein was a changed man who led a law-abiding life. However, the new case filed on Wednesday – the first to be filed in the US Virgin Islands – alleges that the abuse continued unabated after he was released from jail. He had been charged by Manhattan prosecutors in July with sexually exploiting dozens of women and girls in
New York and Florida, but they did not point to any actions beyond 2005. Epstein, a wealthy financier, died by suicide inside a Manhattan jail in August, while awaiting trial. His victims, who number in the dozens if not hundreds, are now awaiting civil redress from his $577 million (£443m) estate. Little St James, the Caribbean island owned by Jeffrey Epstein The case filed by Denise George, attorney general of the US Virgin Islands, accused Epstein of bringing girls as young as 11 and 12 to his secluded estate on the island of Little Saint James. They also alleged that he kept a computer database to track the availability and movements of women and girls. The suit was filed against Epstein’s estate, and seeks the forfeiture of Little Saint James plus the second island he owned, Great Saint James. They also ask for the dissolution of numerous shell companies he established in the territory, which officials have said acted as fronts for his sex trafficking enterprise. Epstein’s victims included aspiring models from South America, according to court documents. Jeffrey Epstein with Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured in 2005 As part of its policies, the government of the Virgin Islands could take any assets recovered from Epstein’s estate and consider disbursing them to the women and girls he allegedly abused. “Epstein clearly used the Virgin Islands and his residence in the US Virgin Islands at Little Saint James as a way to be able to conceal and to be able to expand his activity here,” Ms George said. Ms George said she believed the case could chip away at the region’s reputation as a notorious haven for the rich and powerful. “We will not remain complacent, and we will enforce our laws whatever way we can,” she said. “It doesn’t matter the social status of the person. It’s that the laws apply equally.” Epstein’s executor, Darren Indyke, has not responded to the suit.