The federal judge overseeing the case against Jeffrey Epstein dismissed the charges on Thursday but kept the spotlight on the victims who spoke out against the alleged child sex trafficker.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman signed the nolle prosequi dismissal order filed by prosecutors last week after Epstein was found dead in his Metropolitan Correctional Center prison cell. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.
Today’s order stated that because Epstein “died while this case was pending, and therefore before a final judgment was issued, the Indictment must be dismissed under the rule of abatement.” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who made the dismissal request a week ago, made it clear that his office “remains committed to doing its utmost to stand up for the victims who have already come forward, as well as for the many others who have yet to do so.”
When Judge Berman ordered the hearing last week, he said that “at the hearing, counsel for the government and for the deceased defendant, Jeffrey Epstein, will be heard” and that “counsel for the victims and the victims will also be heard, if they wish to be.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey emphasized at Tuesday’s hearing that the Southern District of New York’s investigation into any of Epstein’s co-conspirators continued.
“To be very clear, dismissal of this indictment as to Jeffrey Epstein in no way prohibits or inhibits the government’s ongoing investigation into other potential co-conspirators,” Comey said. “Nor does it prevent the bringing of a new case in the future or the prosecution of new defendants.”
“He will not have his day in court, but the reckoning of accountability has begun, supported by the voices of these brave and beautiful women in this courtroom today,” Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre testified on Tuesday. “He did not act alone and we, the victims, know that.”
“He robbed me of my dreams, he robbed me of my chance to pursue a career I always adored, and he stole my chance at really feeling love because I was so scared to trust anyone for so many years,” alleged Epstein victim Jennifer Araoz said in court.
Numerous other women, including a dozen women who testified anonymously, also told their stories about Epstein abusing them.
