Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in New York City on Saturday on sex trafficking-related charges, according to multiple reports.
NBC 4 New York, citing sources, reported court documents state that Epstein allegedly had sexual encounters with dozens of underage girls at his Palm Beach, Florida residence. According to authorities, the politically connected hedge fund manager employed “female fixers” who sought out the girls from all over the world for such encounters. Some of the girls were allegedly transported to his homes in New York City, New Mexico, and a private Caribbean island, according to court documents.
Law enforcement sources told NBC 4 New York that Epstein is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Monday.
“It’s been a long time coming—it’s been too long coming,” David Boies, an attorney who represents a pair of Epstein accusers, said in a statement to the Daily Beast. “It is an important step towards getting justice for the many victims of Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise.
“We hope that prosecutors will not stop with Mr. Epstein because there were many other people who participated with him and made the sex trafficking possible,” added Boies.
The development comes after a federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered the unsealing of nearly 2,000 pages of records related to a civil case that may contain lurid claims about the sexual history of the wealthy investor.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling relates to records in a since-settled defamation case after Epstein in 2008 pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a person under age 18 for prostitution.
He was sentenced to 13 months in jail and was required to reach financial settlements with dozens of his once-teenage victims. Epstein, now 66, also was required to register as a sex offender.
Attorney Alan Dershowitz, the Miami Herald Co., and independent blogger Michael Cernovich sought the unsealing of records in the case. Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor who had worked on Epstein’s legal defense, sought the unsealing of records to fight what he called “outrageous and impertinent allegations” made against him, the 2nd Circuit noted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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