On Wednesday, the U.S. Virgin Islands revealed that they had settled a sex trafficking case involving the estate of tycoon Jeffrey Epstein for more than $105 million.
The settlement concludes a nearly three-year judicial battle in which U.S. Virgin Islands officials attempted to hold Epstein accountable for the sexual abuse of scores of young girls and environmental damage on two of his islands.
As per the terms of the deal, the islands would be put up for auction. Attorney General Denise George remarked that “this settlement restores the faith of the people of the Virgin Islands that its laws will be implemented, without fear or favor, against those who break them.”
The territory’s government received an agreement from Epstein’s estate promising $105 million in cash and half of the revenues from the sale of Little St. James island, where Epstein owned a residence and where many of his crimes are believed to have taken place.
The estate will also pay $450,000 to restore Great St. James, another island Epstein owned and from which he is accused of destroying ancient slave constructions from the island’s colonial past.
Officials have stated that the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James Island will be invested in a government trust to support programmes and services for victims of sexual assault.
George spoke with three alleged victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation on Little St. James island and said, “We owe it to those who were so terribly harmed to make reforms that would assist avert the next group of victims.”
The island has three beaches, a helipad, a service station, and more than 70 acres (28 hectares) of property, which the real estate company advertises as “an array of development options” and “a comprehensive, discreetly positioned, infrastructural support system” for the asking price of $55 million.
Great St. James, an island of almost 160 acres (65 hectares) and three beaches, is also on the market for $55 million, as is the rest of the corporation. Millions of dollars in economic advantages will also be returned to Epstein’s estate.
In addition, the estate will pay back more than $80 million in economic tax benefits that Epstein and his co-defendants “fraudulently gained to fund his criminal operation,” as stated by officials from the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In the past, the government has charged Southern Trust Co., a company owned by Epstein, with making false statements to obtain advantages.
The settlement does not involve any acknowledgment or concession of culpability or fault by the estate or anybody else, according to a statement emailed to The Associated Press by Daniel Weiner, an attorney for the Epstein estate.
All charges of impropriety by the co-executors are categorically denied, he wrote. After careful consideration, the co-executors determined that the agreement was in the estate’s best interest.
Weiner added that 136 victims had received compensation totaling over $121 million from the estate.
While awaiting trial in a New York federal prison in August 2019, Epstein took his own life. He was accused of molesting hundreds of kids, the youngest of them was 14. He pleaded not guilty.
Numerous women had filed lawsuits against Epstein and his longstanding lover Ghislaine Maxwell, claiming the two had coerced them into having sexual encounters with high-ranking males.
Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex trafficking and other crimes, received a 20-year prison term in June.
Source: NPR