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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/07/29/jeffrey-epstein-feds-probe-possible-child-trafficking-charge.html

Epstein Faces Sex-Traffic Probe

The Justice Department is investigating Jeffrey Epstein for child trafficking, The Daily Beast has learned—and has widened the scope of its probe to include a famous modeling agency.

Hedge-fund manager Jeffrey Epstein completed his sentence for soliciting prostitution with a minor last week. But it appears his problems may not be over. Now The Daily Beast has learned that:

• Federal investigators continue to investigate Epstein’s activities, to see whether there is evidence of child trafficking—a far more serious charge than the two in his non-prosecution agreement, the arrangement between Epstein and the Department of Justice allowing him to plead guilty to lower-level state crimes. Trafficking can carry a 20-year sentence.

• The FBI is also investigating Epstein’s friend Jean Luc Brunel, whose MC2 modeling agency appears to have been a source of girls from overseas who ended up on Epstein’s private jets.

Because Epstein’s predatory habits stretch back many years and involved dozens of young-looking girls, there may well be more evidence to uncover.

Under the concept of double jeopardy, Epstein can no longer be prosecuted for any of the charges covered by his non-prosecution agreement, in which he agreed to serve a short term of incarceration, fund the civil suits of named victims, and register as a sex offender. The victims who accepted cash settlements in these civil suits agreed not to testify against him or speak publicly about the case. However, new evidence developed by the Department of Justice on other offenses not covered by the agreement, including allegations by additional victims who come forward, could lead to new charges. There is no statute of limitations in the federal sex-trafficking law, which was also enacted by the state of Florida in 2002. Because his predatory habits stretch back many years and involved dozens of young-looking girls, there may well be more evidence to uncover. (Several young women who claim to be Epstein victims have recently contacted a Ft. Lauderdale lawyer, but to date no new civil complaints have been filed.)

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These new developments come one week after the publication of two articles in The Daily Beast about Epstein’s pattern of sexual contact with underage girls, which Palm Beach police began investigating in 2005 and the U.S. Attorney’s office then settled in a 2007 plea deal. The first

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