Dershowitz Eludes Civil Liability Related To Child Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein
Dershowitz Eludes Civil Liability Related To Child Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein
So far only one woman, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been held accountable for a decades-long sex trafficking ring involving rich and powerful men who exploited vulnerable teenage girls.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who was sex trafficked by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein at age 16, and her attorney, David Boies, were sued by former Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz after they sued him for defamation.
The legal details are exhausting.
Suffice to say, all of the lawsuits were dropped in a settlement this week. Giuffre, now 39 and living with her husband and children in Australia, said she “may have made a mistake” in saying Epstein trafficked her to Dershowitz, adding she was young and it was a “very stressful and traumatic environment.”
No money changed hands It may have helped that Giuffre earlier this year received a $16 million settlement in her sex abuse lawsuit against England’s Prince Andrew. Could anyone blame her if she just wanted to end torture by litigation?
Giuffre is one of two women who alleged Epstein lent them out for sex to Dershowitz. The other, Sarah Ransome, wrote a book published by Harper Collins last year, Silenced No More: Surviving My Journey to Hell and Back. The Daily Beast reports Dershowitz has denied her allegations and called her mentally unstable. Ransome received a settlement from Epstein and Maxwell in 2018, the amount of which is undisclosed.
Epstein allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself with a sheet tied to a bunkbed in 2019 while awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.
So is it over?
With only one criminal conviction - of a woman? What about the rich and powerful “johns” who gained access to the girls through Epstein and sexually abused them at Epstein’s New York mansion and private island - nicknamed Pedophile Island - in the Caribbean?
Some Of Giuffre’s Mistakes…
Giuffre signed a 2015 affidavit stating that Epstein and Maxwell directed her to have sex with Dershowitz six times, starting at age 16.
According to the complaint filed in Giuffre’s now dropped defamation lawsuit:
Dershowitz was “Epstein’s attorney, close friend, and co-conspirator. Dershowitz was also a participant in sex trafficking, including as one of the men to whom Epstein lent out Plaintiff for sex.”
Dershowitz “unleashed a desperate barrage of false and increasingly defamatory attacks on [Giuffre] … to damage [her] reputation and credibility and to try to intimidate her into silence.”
Dershowitz defended Epstein by “falsely attacking the veracity of his accusers, including calling the children whom Epstein had abused (and, in the case of Plaintiff, the Defendant himself had also abused), liars and prostitutes.”
Dershowitz “said on national television that he would waive the statute of limitations so that [Giuffre] could sue him for sex abuse. However, when [her] counsel asked Dershowitz to do so, Dershowitz refused - and continues to refuse.”
Dershowitz claimed Giuffre and Ransome accused him to extort money from Epstein’s client, the billionaire Leslie Wexner.
No Prosecution Of Anyone On The Extensive List of Public Figures Associated With Epstein
Epstein, a wealthy financier, was first arrested in 2006, when he secured a notoriously lenient “non-prosecution agreement” from then-U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Alex Acosta. Epstein faced life in prison but got 13-months in a county jail (with work release during the day) after pleading guilty to two counts of felony prostitution. The deal was concealed from Epstein’s victims in apparent violation of the Crime Victims Rights Act which requires victims to be kept apprised of plea deals.
A new book recently published by independent journalist Whitney Webb speculates Epstein got preferential treatment because he had ties to U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies. The book is called One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Crime that Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Miami Herald in 2018 published a series of articles, based on interviews of 80 women who were molested or sexually abused by Epstein. The Herald accused Epstein and his lawyers, including Dershowitz, with corrupting the legal system to obtain the 2006 non-prosecution agreement.
Today, Dershowitz is happily writing letters and editorials that are published by major media, including The New York Times, The Hill, Politico, and Fox News. He contributes legal analysis to news shows like “The View” (which is hosted by a bunch of frivolous women).
The Epstein fiasco has taken a back seat in Dershowitz’s elite social circle - the rich and famous residents of Martha’s Vineyard. They seem to blame Dershowitz more for defending former GOP President Donald Trump’s civil liberties than for allegedly exploiting and sexually abusing teenage girls.
If it’s over, it’s an unsatisfactory ending that reflects badly on the America legal system, from police to the courts.
