"Over the course of two decades, Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly appeared on law enforcement's radar for sexual misconduct involving teen girls and young women. And over this same period of time, Epstein avoided serious and meaningful punishment for his crimes. The US justice department's recent disclosure of long-secret investigative files related to Epstein has once again raised the question of why he wasn't interdicted sooner, despite numerous reports of misconduct."
"The Epstein and Maxwell problem is twofold. First, law enforcement agencies, especially at the local level, do not communicate well with one another, Neama Rahmani, founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, said. Second, prosecutors are risk-averse and do not want to prosecute difficult cases. More, authorities can see sexual abuse cases as risky propositions in terms of success. Sexual assault and sexual abuse prosecutions are often he said, she said' cases."
Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly appeared on law enforcement's radar for sexual misconduct involving teen girls and young women over two decades yet avoided serious punishment. Long-secret investigative files released by the US justice department outline numerous missed opportunities to stop Epstein before his 2019 arrest and subsequent suicide in prison. Multiple factors contributed: poor communication among law enforcement agencies, local prosecutors' risk aversion toward difficult sexual-abuse prosecutions, evidentiary challenges in 'he said, she said' cases, and defendants' significant resources. Some observers also point to potential protection from connections with powerful individuals.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]