New Victims Emerge As Epstein Awaits Bail Hearing

Jeffrey Epstein's initial are on the wall outside of his New York City townhouse

As lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein presented their reasoning why their client should be released from custody while awaiting trials, more women have come forward to say the financier—and convicted sex offender—sexually abused them.

The Miami Herald reports, "Following Epstein’s arrest Saturday in New Jersey, four women have reached out to New York lawyer David Boies, and at least 10 other women have approached other lawyers who have represented dozens of Epstein’s alleged victims in the past. Jack Scarola, a Palm Beach attorney, said at least five women, all of whom were minors at the time of their alleged encounters with Epstein, have reached out to either him or Fort Lauderdale lawyer Brad Edwards."

Scarola told the Miami Herald, "The people we are speaking to are underage victims in Florida and in New York. They are not individuals whose claims have previously been part of any law enforcement investigation."

In 2008, Epstein had pleaded guilty to Florida prostitution charges in an apparent sweetheart deal from then-U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Florida Alex Acosta, the current U.S. Secretary of Labor, even though evidence pointed to Epstein running a "sexual pyramid scheme" involving girls and young women in Florida and New York. Epstein still had to register as a Level 3 sex offender in New York, even though the Manhattan D.A.'s office lobbied for him to be a lower sex offender (by mistake, the D.A.'s office said) and the NYPD seemingly didn't require him to either. The law says Level 3 sex offenders must, Epstein to check in each month.

In February of this year, a federal judge ruled that the deal was illegal because prosecutors did not consult with victims, as the Crime Victims’ Rights Act requires them.

After his plane landed at Teterboro Airport (it had departed from Paris) on Saturday, Epstein was arrested. On Monday, Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Epstein was indicted on sex trafficking charges related to incidents between 2002 and 2005, adding that the "Southern District of New York is not bound by the [2008] agreement." He noted that during a search of Epstein's mansion on East 71st Street in Manhattan, federal agents found hundreds, maybe thousands, of photographs of nude or partially nude young women.

Prosecutors have asked that Epstein remain held without bail at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, and noted his vast resources, including homes in Florida, New Mexico, the Caribbean, and Paris, and a private jet.

Epstein's defense team says the 66-year-old is willing to give up his $77 million townhouse as collateral and ground his plane, while being monitored with an ankle bracelet. However, an attorney representing some of accusers, Spencer Kuvin, told the Herald, "I don’t care if he gives up his license and his jet, he still has the wherewithal to take off any time. Think about it — if he was a plumber in Queens, do you think the judge would say ‘Yeah, let’s give him an ankle bracelet and send him home?’ ’"

A professor of sociology at the College of Staten Island, Thomas Volscho, is working on a book about Epstein and, in an interview with Daily Intel, said, "I think he’s engaged in blackmail," referring to Epstein's wealth (which might not be as extensive as previously stated). Volscho noted how Epstein had sophisticated surveillance systems in his Palm Beach, Florida home and added, "[S]ome of his victims, like Virginia Roberts, in her court filings, said that Epstein remarked to her that 'information is king,' and mentioned that Bill Clinton was there because 'he owes me a favor.' He bragged that that’s how powerful he was. So I suspect, based on that evidence, that’s it’s likely, since that’s the way Epstein operates, is he uses information to his advantage. Does he get investment money for his hedge fund that way? That’s a strong possibility. Does he not have to pay back investors maybe using the blackmail information as a threat? That’s a possibility."

On Friday morning, two days after defending the 2008 plea deal, Labor Secretary Acosta announced he was resigning. Acosta said on Wednesday that his office made the deal with Epstein because they were the toughest possible, only for the Palm Beach County prosecutor at the time to rebuke him:

From ABC News' coverage of Acosta's mid-week press conference: "When asked by ABC News' Tom Llamas whether Epstein's victims deserved an apology, Acosta responded by noting decisions the prosecutor in the case made to try to help victims secure financial restitution. He did not offer an apology."

Update: Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say that Epstein paid two people who could testify against him $350,000, possibly to influence them not to testify. The NY Times reports, "Two days after the [Miami] Herald published its expose, Mr. Epstein wired $100,000 to a person who had been named as a possible co-conspirator in his deal with Florida prosecutors a decade ago. Three days later, Mr. Epstein sent $250,000 to a person who not only had been named as a co-conspirator in the Florida agreement, but was also identified in the New York indictment as an employee who helped Mr. Epstein in his sex-trafficking scheme."