On Jan. 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court of New York released over 900 pages of previously classified documents regarding the Jeffery Epstein case to the public as part of a court order made in December by a judge. The court released a second batch of documents on Jan. 4, with more batches publicized in the days following.
Jeffery Epstein was a prominent American financier in New York before his arrest in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking. Through his work in the finance sector and his private firm, he created a large social circle and lured many women and children whom Epstein and his associates abused. Epstein was found dead in a jail cell in 2019, as he was awaiting trial.
Epstein was previously arrested in 2005 for similar charges but took a plea deal. He was convicted of two crimes and served only 13 months in prison before being released through a work release program in 2009.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a well-known associate of Epstein was a British socialite before she was arrested for child trafficking and in connection with Epstein’s other crimes. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence, after being convicted in 2021.
The documents include flight logs of celebrities who flew on Epstein’s private jet, called the “Lolita Express,” revealing that they took trips all around the world. The documents cumulatively mention about 200 names, including prominent names such as Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Michael Jackson.
Social Studies teacher Mr. Matthew Kanach states that he does not believe the mentioned names will face consequences as a result of the log’s release.
“I do not see them facing any prosecution, because right now it seems like they were on a plane- so really all you can say is that they were on a plane with people doing bad things, but there’s no evidence of them doing bad things.”
According to the 2009 deposition of Tijuan Alessi, a manager of Jeffery Epstein’s house in Florida, many celebrities, including Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, visited the property. Ferguson is not accused of crimes. Epstein’s house manager also attested to seeing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. but has not accused him of any misconduct. Many of the celebrity names on the logs have not been accused of illegal activity, but are mentioned for their associations with Epstein.
Johanna Sjoberg, an Epstein accuser, alleged that she was abused by Prince Andrew when she was 21 years old. Prince Andrew denied these accusations and was subsequently removed from his honorary military affiliations and royal patronages. Sjoberg additionally mentioned Bill Clinton in her deposition but did not accuse him of any crimes. Both individuals are included in the flight logs.
Junior Brainy Akpala believes that the log will help victims reach their goal of getting justice.
“I believe that [the log’s release] is a step in the right direction of helping [the victims] get justice because it initiates the first step- awareness.”
