Jeffrey Epstein Indicted: Felonies Involving Minor Girls - Essay Sample

Introduction

On July 2, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was indicted by a grand jury. He was charged with two felonies entailing minor girls. The first count involved a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of underage girls. The second count involved sex trafficking of minor girls (Berman 2). Epstein was accused of enticing and recruiting minors and engaging in sex acts in his Manhattan mansion and his Palm Beach estate in exchange for money with the victims. He also paid various victims to enlist other girls, thereby developing a vast network of underage victims. The indictment also explained that the victims of Epstein were as young as 14 years old and therefore vulnerable to exploitation (Berman 7). It charges also indicate that Epstein intentionally targeted minors and was aware that the victims were under the age of 18. Epstein was arrested and on July 8, 2019, and indicted by Magistrate Judge Henry Pittman.

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Reiterating the first count of indictment, Epstein was charged with conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minor girls. It implies that Epstein in collaboration with others, however unknown plotted a secret plan for an unlawful purpose which was committing sex trafficking of underage girls. The illegal act is in the violation of 18 U.S.C § 1591. It is also indicated that Epstein or one of his employees or associates paid the victims in cash. It, therefore, means that Epstein was not acting alone, but there are other people involved in committing the crimes.

Sex trafficking is human trafficking and modern-day slavery with the objective of sexual exploitation. In this criminal activity fraud, force or coercion is used. In situation minors below the age 18 are engaged in commercial sex, they are regarded as victims of human trafficking, irrespective of the use force, coercion or fraud. In the United States, sex trafficking entails three components, namely the process, the means, and the objective. For children who are below 18 years, consent is irrelevant, and a component of means is unnecessary. In Epstein’s case, the victims were mostly minors, with some as young as 14 years old at the time of the sexual abuse (Berman 7). It is postulated that he specifically sought out minors and was aware most of the victims were under 18 years. In some cases, the minors explicitly disclosed their age. The sex trafficking by Epstein occurred from at least 2002 up to around 2005.

It is reported Epstein had created a sex trafficking enterprise that went across borders. He used his vast wealth and connections and employed recruiters around the globe. Epstein targeted victims who had weaknesses and vulnerabilities. For instance, some of the victims did not have homes, cars and therefore required somewhere to live. Epstein offered some of the victims paid education and also promised to help in their career advancement. Thus, the victims were prone to sexual exploitation due to economic hardships. The scheme was also enabled by other people such as doctors, psychiatrists and gynecologists (Brown). They are reported to have checked the medical health of the victims. There were also recruiters such as the assistant who planned the encounters in addition to a butler who cleaned up after the encounters (Brown). It, therefore, means that using his wealth and vast contacts, Epstein created an expansive sex trafficking enterprise preying on vulnerable minors.

Works Cited

Berman, Richard M. “United States District Court Southern District of New York: United States of America against Jeffrey Epstein.” Courthousenews.com, 18 July 2019, www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Epstein-berman.pdf.

Brown, Julie K. “'When You Are in, You Can't Get out.' Women Describe How Jeffrey Epstein Controlled Them.” Miamiherald, Miami Herald, www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article235247637.html.