American billionaire and financier Jeffrey Epstein is facing new charges for the alleged sex trafficking of minors, some as young as 14 years old.
At the same time, a court order from last week to unseal roughly 2,000 pages of documents from a defamation case related to 2014 allegations against Epstein could spell trouble for many of the prominent businessman’s powerful friends — including one described at the time as “a well-known Prime Minister.”
Federal prosecutors held a press conference on Monday and announced they have charged Epstein with the sex trafficking of multiple alleged victims, including minors, in what they described as an “outrageous” case of criminal activity. Epstein has pleaded not guilty.
They also preemptively addressed questions about whether other prominent individuals could be tied to the new charges, saying they are prohibited from commenting on any other connections to the case.
“The Jeffrey Epstein case is the No. 1 in the country,” said William F. Sweeney, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Newark field office, in a plea for any other victims to come forward and share their stories.
The case itself is complex, spanning decades and including multiple iterations of attempts to bring criminal charges against the man.