On this day in history, Jeffrey Epstein charged with sex trafficking in New York

What we have learned since -- and what still remains a mystery

Seven years ago today, Jeffrey Edward Epstein was charged by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York with operating a vast sex trafficking network to sexually exploit and abuse underage girls and young women between 2002 and 2005 at his mansions in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.

(Photo Credit: AP)

Epstein’s arrest came some seven months after the Miami Herald published an investigation, “Perversion of Justice,” which detailed how federal prosecutors in South Florida gave Epstein federal immunity from sex trafficking crimes even though they had evidence he had sexually abused dozens of underage girls.

His arrest reverberated from New York to Washington, D.C., where President Donald Trump — a former friend of Epstein’s — noted that he “wasn’t a fan” of the notorious sex predator. Yet the President stood by his labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, despite increasing pressure for Acosta to step down because of his role in approving a 2007 non-prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to avoid life in prison.

But before the week was out, Acosta had resigned, reigniting scrutiny over how the criminal allegations against him — which had been known for at least a decade — had previously been handled by the Justice Department.

Today, the Epstein case has become one of the most closely watched and analyzed criminal cases in the country’s history. It continues to raise important questions about the ethical, moral and corrupt failures of government institutions that, even today, continue to protect wealthy and powerful people — at the expense of those whose lives have been destroyed by Epstein and others who helped him.

The story has ebbed and flowed over the past seven years. My series, published in November 2018, was only the beginning of my work to expose how Epstein got away with his crimes — and more importantly, to hold Epstein and his accomplices accountable.