Financial magnate accused of sexual trafficking on underage girls, prosecution restart lawsuit
Photo: VCG
CNN reported on July 8 that New York prosecutors filed a formal lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein, a 66-year-old financial magnate in New York, accusing him of sex trafficking and luring dozens of girls as young as 14 to his luxury homes in New York and Florida and paying them for sex acts.
美國有線電視新聞網（CNN）7月8日消息稱，紐約檢方當天正式起訴金融大亨傑弗裡·埃普斯汀，指控其操控性交易團夥，並對數十名未成年少女實施性侵，受害人中有的當時年僅14歲。
As a billionaire hedge fund manager, he possesses a seven-story villa worth $56 million in Manhattan, and a multitude of American and overseas mansions. He donated $30 million to Harvard University and was Known by Wall Street people as a "Gates-style figure". However, behind the scenes, he is a registered sex offender who had been charged with sexual assault on minor girls for several times and had been sentenced for it.
作為身家億萬的對衝基金經理，傑弗裡·埃普斯汀名下擁有眾多奢華房產，僅其向哈佛大學的捐款就達3000萬美元之多。然而在這些光鮮的成功背後，他卻是一名記錄在案的性侵犯罪者，曾被多次指控性侵未成年少女，並因此而被判刑。
新指控是「炒冷飯」？
Is it an old story not worth mentioning?
埃普斯汀位於佛羅裡達州棕櫚灘的豪宅。Photo: VCG
"I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy," Trump told New York Magazine that year for a story headlined "Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery." "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life."
However, just a few years after Trump's evaluation, Epstein was exposed to build a sex-trafficking network. According to CNN, he allegedly 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, and paid some of his victims to recruit other girls for him to abuse.
2002年，當時的紐約知名房地產商、現在的美國總統川普曾向《紐約客》雜誌這樣形容埃普斯汀，「我認識傑弗裡十五年，他是一個很棒的人，和他在一起很有趣。」然而，就在幾年後，埃普斯汀構建的龐大性交易網絡逐漸浮出水面。據CNN報導，他曾在2002年至2005年間，付錢與少女發生性關係，甚至還會付錢讓一些受害女孩繼續引誘其她女孩來到住所供其侵犯。
Epstein is facing two charges of "juvenile sex trafficking crime" and "conspiracy to engage in juvenile sex trafficking crime". Once convicted, he will be sentenced to up to 45 years' imprisonment at the age of 66, CNN reported.
According to the New York Times on July 8, in response to the above allegations, Epstein's attorneys stressed in their plea of innocence that the incident had already been resolved in 2008. "For us, this indictment is basically an old story."
CNN稱，目前埃普斯汀面臨「未成年人性交易罪」和「合謀參與未成年人性交易罪」兩項指控，一旦罪名成立，66歲的他將獲最高45年的監禁。據《紐約時報》8日報導，對於上述指控，其律師在做無罪辯護時強調，事件早已在2008年就得到解決。律師還說到：「對我們來說，這次的控告早就是陳年舊事了。」
受害者資料圖 Photo: VCG
The"old story" he mentioned refers to the accusation against Epstein by the Miami prosecution more than a decade ago. In 2005, a series of investigations were launched after a victim's parents reported the case to the Miami police. Florida prosecutors have prepared a 53-page indictment accusing Epstein of sexual assault.
But in 2008, a non-prosecution agreement was concluded after 11 hours of negotiations between the Miami Federal Prosecutor's Office and Epstein's attorneys, and Epstein was exempted from prosecution by pleading guilty to two prostitution charges, paying compensation and serving 13 months in Palm Beach Prison. But the so-called "prison service" means that Epstein can leave prison six days a week.
2005年，一名受害者父母向邁阿密警方報案，稱自己14歲的女兒在當地一處莊園被一名中年男子誘導並發生了性關係。經過一系列調查，佛羅裡達州檢察官準備了一份長達53頁的起訴書，指控埃普斯汀性侵。
但在2008年，邁阿密聯邦檢察官辦公室與埃普斯汀的律師進行了整整11個小時的談判後，達成了一項「不起訴協議」，埃普斯汀只需在州法院就兩項召妓指控認罪、支付賠償金，並在監獄服刑13個月。但所謂的「服刑」期間，他每周有6天可以離開監獄。
調查報導解開案件神秘一角
Investigation report uncovers the mystery of the case
Photo: Global Times
In recent months, this old story has returned to the public, which stemmed from a survey report more than half a year ago.
Last November, the Miami Herald's investigation revealed the "non-prosecution agreement" ten years ago. It is Reported that although the FBI had confirmed the identity of 36 minor victims at that time, Alexander Acosta, then Miami federal prosecutor and current Labor Minister, helped Epstein reach the "lifelong agreement", which basically ended the FBI's ongoing investigation granted immunity to any potential accomplice in the case.
埃普斯汀的罪行重回大眾視野，源自半年多前的一篇調查報導。去年11月，《邁阿密先驅報》的調查報導披露了十年前的那項「不起訴協議」。報導稱，儘管當時聯邦調查局已確認了36名未成年受害者的身份，但時任邁阿密聯邦檢察官、現任勞工部長亞歷山大·阿科斯塔幫埃普斯汀達成了這項「終身協議」，協議基本上終止了聯邦調查局對其正進行的調查，並給予了案件中任何潛在同謀豁免權。
In February, a federal judge in Florida ruled that the Justice Department violated the law by not consulting with the victims of the Epstein case when the non-prosecution agreement was reached.
Jeffrey Berman, the Manhattan federal prosecutor who restarted the lawsuit, said that although a "non-prosecution agreement" had been reached, the agreement only applied to the US Prosecutor's office in Florida's Southern District, and New York federal prosecutors could still sue for it.
今年2月，佛羅裡達州的一名聯邦法官裁定司法部違反法律規定，在當時達成上述「不起訴協議」時未與埃普斯汀案的受害者進行協商。
重啟訴訟的曼哈頓聯邦檢察官傑弗裡·伯曼稱，儘管（當時）達成了「不起訴協議」，但該協議僅適用於佛羅裡達州南區的美國檢察官辦公室，紐約聯邦檢察官仍可對此提起訴訟。
Epstein has been charged again. In the trial on July 8, the prosecutor rejected Epstein's bail application on the grounds of "the risk of absconding". However, a bail hearing on Epstein will be held on July 15 to allow his attorneys time to submit written bail documents.
在8日的庭審中，檢察官基於埃普斯汀擁有的巨額財富和外國房產，以「存在潛逃風險」為由拒絕了他的保釋申請。不過，關於埃普斯汀的保釋聽證會將於7月15日召開，以允許其律師有時間提交書面保釋文件。
忙著與之劃清界限的「朋友圈」
Busy with staying away from the disputes
While the Epstein case returned to the public, his powerful friends obviously kept a distance from him.
在埃普斯汀案重回大眾視野的同時，其強大的「朋友圈」也再度引起人們的關注。在醜聞纏身的當下，其「朋友圈」忙著與他劃清界限。
According to the Guardian, former US President Bill Clinton shared at least 26 flights with Epstein from 2001 to 2003. But a spokesman of Clinton said on July 8 that Clinton knew nothing about the terrible crimes Epstein had committed in Florida in recent years. BBC then reported that Clinton stated that he hasn't spoken to Epstein for more than a decade.
President Trump, who praised Epstein 17 years ago, tried to keep a distance with Epstein.
In addition, as early as four years ago, there were reports of "disclosure of court documents" claiming that Epstein had forced girls to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew. But Buckingham Palace refuted it as "absolutely not true... false and without any basis."
據英國《衛報》報導，美國前總統比爾·柯林頓在2001年至2003年期間至少與埃普斯汀同乘航班26次，但柯林頓的一位發言人8日表示，柯林頓對埃普斯汀幾年來在佛羅裡達州犯下的可怕罪行一無所知。英國廣播公司（BBC）進而報導稱，柯林頓在一份聲明中還稱，「已經十多年沒有和埃普斯汀說過話」。而17年前曾評價埃普斯汀「有趣」的美國總統川普也試圖與之保持距離。此外，早在4年前就有報導宣稱，埃普斯汀曾強迫少女與英國安德魯王子發生性關係。但白金漢宮駁斥稱，這種說法是「絕對不真實.虛假而沒有任何根據的」。
Nevertheless, compared with the above eye-catching but unsubstantiated speculation, the public now focuses on Alexander Acosta, one of the protagonists of the "non-prosecution agreement" 11 years ago, turning from prosecutor to labor minister. It is argued that the agreement between Acosta and Epstein is the greatest betrayal of ordinary people and the greatest contempt for the law.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said on the evening of on July 8 that the agreement reached between Acosta and Epstein was unreasonable and that Acosta should resign. Eric Holland, Deputy Assistant Minister for public affairs, said Acosta had no comment on the incident.
不過，相比上述吸引眼球但缺乏實據的猜測，現在輿論關注的焦點對準了11年前「不起訴協議」的主角之一，從檢察官轉身成為勞工部長的阿科斯塔。有觀點認為，阿科斯塔與埃普斯汀方面達成的協議是對法律的最大蔑視。
民主黨議員、國會眾議院議長南希·佩洛西8日晚間表示，阿科斯塔與埃普斯汀達成的協議是不合理的，阿科斯塔應該辭職。而負責公共事務的勞工部副助理部長埃裡克·霍蘭德則表示，阿科斯塔對事件不予置評。
In January, the state legislature passed the Child Victims Act, which expanded the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases to give survivors more time to seek criminal charges or sue their abusers -- or both.
今年1月，紐約州議會通過了《未成年人受害者法案》，該法案延長了性侵未成年人案件的訴訟時效，使受害者有更多的時間對犯罪者進行刑事指控或起訴。
Under the new law, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed in February, survivors of child sexual assault can pursue criminal felony charges until they turn 28, and file a civil lawsuit before age 55. And this can help the victims to defend their rights, bringing the crimes to justice.
根據這條今年2月籤署的法案，性侵案件的未成年人受害可以在28歲前提起刑事重罪訴訟，並在55歲之前提起民事訴訟。這無疑能夠幫助受害者更好地捍衛自己權益，將犯罪者繩之以法。
Sources: CNN, The New York Times, Global Times, 澎湃新聞, 觀察者網, 中國經濟網