Twelve victims of the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein are suing the FBI for its failed investigation into the allegations of sex trafficking for over 20 years, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The victims alleged the FBI did not interview victims or collaborate with other law enforcement despite receiving tips about the sex trafficker as early as 1996.
In 2006, Epstein faced criminal charges after a grand jury charged him with one count of soliciting prostitution.
However, Epstein was not prosecuted federally after he pleaded guilty to state charges two years later.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York reads:
“As a direct and proximate cause of the FBI’s negligence, plaintiffs would not have been continued to be sex trafficked, abused, raped, tortured and threatened.”
“During the FBI investigation, the FBI was complicit in permitting Epstein and co-conspirators to continue to victimize Jane Does 1-12 and other young women,” the suit adds.
“The FBI had photographs, videos and interviews and hard evidence of child prostitution and failed to timely investigate and arrest Epstein in deviation from the FBI protocols.”
“The FBI had a non-discretionary obligation, governed by established policies, procedures, rules, and protocols, to handle and investigate tips concerning potential and ongoing underage child erotica, rape, sex with minors, and sex trafficking in a reasonable manner and to act against Epstein and to prevent him from committing repeated crimes,” it continued.
“Yet, contrary to its own established rules, the FBI failed to take appropriate action and botched and covered up investigations for years.”
The Washington Examiner reported:
“The victims say the FBI ignored credible tips until 2019, when federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex crimes involving minors. A month later, Epstein was found dead in his federal jail in New York City, which was ruled a suicide.”
The complaint against the FBI lists the U.S. government as the only defendant from which the plaintiffs seek damages.
Epstein victims Maria Farmer and Sarah Ransome said they would sue the FBI for failing to investigate Epstein back in the 1990s.
Last year, they filed a notice of claim, which is required before suing the FBI in federal court.
In May, Farmer told the Daily Beast that federal officials and police ignored her complaint against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 1996.
Watch
The number of Epstein’s victims is believed to be well over 100.
As Reuters noted:
Victims previously reached approximately $500 million of settlements before deducting legal fees and costs, with a program funded by Epstein’s estate and with two of Epstein’s banks, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank.
It is unclear whether the 12 plaintiffs received compensation from those settlements.
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