Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein accused of paying girls as young as 14 for sex

Source: CNN

Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed a criminal indictment Monday charging billionaire Jeffrey Epstein with having operated a sex trafficking ring in which he sexually abused dozens of underage girls, allegations that have circulated around the politically connected businessman for years.

According to the indictment, between 2002 and 2005, Epstein ran a trafficking enterprise in which he paid hundreds of dollars in cash to girls as young as 14 to have sex with him at his Upper East Side home and his estate in Palm Beach, worked with employees and associates who would lure the girls to his residences and paid some of his victims to recruit other girls for him to abuse.

"In this way, Epstein created a vast network of underage victims for him to sexually exploit, often on a daily basis," the US Attorney's office said in a press release.

Epstein, 66, was arrested Saturday and is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court on Monday. He is charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/08/us/jeffrey-epstein-monday-court-appearance/index.html