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by Julie k Brown,
The four women who were the first to go public
When I wrote “Perversion of Justice” for the Miami Herald in 2018, I never dreamed that we would be sitting here today, piecing together a global sex trafficking and money laundering network involving not only Jeffrey Epstein — but other powerful figures who either participated in or helped enable him to sexually abuse countless women and girls all over the world.
I didn’t do this story all by myself. Emily Michot, the former Miami Herald photographer and videographer, was with me every step of the way. And my editor, Casey Frank, now retired, supported me when people like Alan Dershowitz went into tirades and threatened to sue us. Casey read many of the court documents I used that formed the backbone to my investigation.
Michael Reiter, the former Palm Beach police chief, and Joe Recarey, the lead police detective who has since passed away, also played instrumental roles in the story. They too had never spoken publicly about how their efforts to arrest Epstein were thwarted at almost every turn by state prosecutors who wanted to let Epstein walk. If not for them, Epstein probably wouldn’t have been charged with any crimes at all.
But most of all, we wouldn’t be here today if not for four survivors who courageously were the first to go public with their stories. These four — Virginia Giuffre, Michelle Licata, Courtney Wild and Jena-Lisa Jones (pictured with Emily and I above in a People magazine story) — are the heroines of this story.
If you have not seen the powerful videos that Emily produced for our series, I encourage you to view them on YouTube. Her work captured the trauma and betrayal that these women suffered at the hands of Epstein, Maxwell and from the state and federal prosecutors in Florida who failed them.
Many people don’t know how this story started, or have lost sight of the fact that, had state and federal prosecutors in Florida prosecuted Epstein back in 2008, we may not be here right now.
Or, if these four women had not bravely told me their stories we would not be here now.
Telling that story back then was a challenge. Some people thought there was nothing new to reveal. After all, lots of stories had been written about Epstein. Everyone knew he got a big sweetheart deal.
But I believed that no one had investigated how Epstein got that deal and who was responsible for letting him get away with sexually abusing dozens of high school girls. Who kept the deal secret and why? How did he then manage to get out jail every day on work release, and continue to abuse more victims?
Who were the powerful forces that allowed all this to happen?
The media is fickle. The Epstein saga has ebbed and flowed. Some people don’t even want to hear about anymore.
Despite this, I’ve tried to keep the story front and center, even during the years when other media took a breather. In my mind, there were many more stories to tell, and still questions about how Epstein got away with it all.
During the years following the Herald’s series, his survivors have turned into a force to be reckoned with.
The impact of their voices has shaken up Washington.
No one is more responsible for that force than Virginia Giuffre, who passed away a year ago from suicide.
A memorial will be held for her on Saturday in Washington, which is befitting because, she more than anyone, would be fighting right there on the front lines in Congress along with all the other survivors.
JKB
Source: https://jkbjournalist.substack.com
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