A dozen victims of Jeffrey Epstein have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, alleging that the FBI allowed his sex trafficking operation to continue for more than 20 years.
The victims, whose identities remain undisclosed, claim that the FBI had been tipped off about Epstein’s behavior as early as 1996 but failed to take any action based on this information.
As reported by The Hill, “A probe finally began in 2006, the suit says, but ended once Epstein pleaded guilty to a soliciting prostitution charge in Florida and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The suit claims the FBI continued to ignore tips until Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in 2019. He killed himself in prison months later.”
“As a direct and proximate cause of the FBI’s negligence, plaintiffs would not have been continued to be sex trafficked, abused, raped, tortured and threatened,” the lawsuit reads, according to the report. “Jane Does 1-12 bring this lawsuit to get to the bottom — once and for all — of the FBI’s role in Epstein’s criminal sex trafficking ring.”
The lawsuit also asserts that the FBI possessed evidence of Epstein’s ongoing criminal activities but chose not to pursue further investigation.
“During the FBI investigation, the FBI was complicit in permitting Epstein and co-conspirators to continue to victimize Jane Does 1-12 and other young women,” the lawsuit alleges. “The FBI had photographs, videos and interviews and hard evidence of child prostitution and failed to timely investigate and arrest Epstein in deviation from the FBI protocols.”
“The FBI had a non-discretionary obligation, governed by established policies, procedures, rules, and protocols, to handle and investigate tips concerning potential and ongoing underage child erotica, rape, sex with minors, and sex trafficking in a reasonable manner and to act against Epstein and to prevent him from committing repeated crimes,” the complaint continued.
“Yet, contrary to its own established rules, the FBI failed to take appropriate action and botched and covered up investigations for years.”
The victims are seeking damages from the government.
Epstein was discovered dead in his prison cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York on August 10, 2019. While officially ruled a suicide by hanging, doubts have been raised regarding the circumstances of his death, particularly given the influential individuals he might have potentially implicated.
Notable among his alleged friends and visitors to his infamous “Lolita Island” were Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.
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