Prosecutors finally want to hear from Jeffrey Epstein's victims
BY JULIE K. BROWN
MAY 10, 2019 07:57 PM, UPDATED MAY 10, 2019 08:52 PM
More than a decade after federal prosecutors gave a secret plea deal to a suspected child sex trafficker, the government finally wants to hear from his victims, indicating on Friday that prosecutors wish to interview an unspecified number of women who were molested by Jeffrey Epstein when they were teenagers.
U.S. Attorney Byung B.J. Pak of the Northern District of Georgia is asking a federal judge for a 60-day period to consult with Epsteins victims, followed by a lengthy briefing schedule that is likely to delay the civil case for months, and possibly more than a year, according to a court motion.
If Pak is successful in obtaining a delay, lawyers for the victims have proposed to use that time deposing critical stakeholders in the case, including former Miami federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta, who helped negotiate Epsteins controversial non-prosecution agreement in 2008.
While the victims lawyers do not oppose giving Epsteins victims a voice, they say Paks proposal is so open-ended and vague that it essentially obscures the fact that the government continues to propose solutions that will benefit Epstein, not his victims.
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