The criminal case United States v. Jeffrey Epstein, No. 19-cr-490 (RMB) in the Southern District of New York, opened with Epstein's arrest on 6 July 2019 and ended five weeks later after his death in custody.
Indictment and arrest
A federal grand jury returned a sealed indictment on 2 July 2019 charging Epstein with (1) sex trafficking of minors (18 U.S.C. § 1591) and (2) conspiracy to commit sex trafficking (18 U.S.C. § 371). The indictment, unsealed on 8 July, alleged that from 2002-2005 Epstein paid girls as young as fourteen for sexual "massages" at his Manhattan townhouse and Palm Beach estate and rewarded victims who recruited others.12
Agents arrested Epstein at Teterboro Airport after he landed on a private jet from Paris. A same-night search of his East 71st-Street townhouse uncovered hundreds of nude photographs, some labelled as depicting under-age subjects.3
Bail proceedings and detention
Evidence gathered while the case was pending
During July investigators interviewed additional victims, subpoenaed flight and financial records showing more than twenty international trips in 18 months, and catalogued the photographic material seized in Manhattan.4
Case closure after Epstein's death
Evidence collected in the brief life of the case continues to appear in civil suits against Epstein's estate and in prosecutions of alleged co-conspirators, including Ghislaine Maxwell.