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According to a lawsuit filed by Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Little St James was the centre of a worldwide grooming scheme in which recruiters working for Epstein...
- Overview
- Where is Epstein's island?
- What allegedly happened on the island?
- What did witnesses say about Little St. James?
- What was revealed about Epstein's alleged crimes?
- What happened to Epstein's island?
Court documents unsealed this week revealed dozens of people with a wide variety of connections to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender. The names in the documents include accusers of Epstein, staff members and business associates, many of whom gave depositions about Epstein, who over many years allegedly exploited underage girls for sex at his homes in Manhattan; Palm Beach, Florida; and his private island near St. Thomas. Being named in the court documents is not an indication of wrongdoing.
Where exactly is Little St. James, Epstein's private island, and what did he do there?
Called Little St. James, Epstein's 72-acre island included several villas and is about 2 miles off the coast of St. Thomas, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Epstein had stakes in businesses in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including Hyperion Air.
A boat with the letters LSJ was used to ferry staff members and supplies to Little St. James, a harbor employee told CBS News in 2020.
While Epstein made donations to U.S. Virgin Islands government officials and schools, some said he still did not have the best reputation in the area.
U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George told CBS News in 2020 that she did not "think he was regarded as an upstanding member of the community."
In 2019, Epstein died in a New York prison after being charged by federal prosecutors of sex trafficking conspiracy and one count of sex trafficking with underage girls. He had pleaded not guilty and his death in prison before facing trial was ruled a suicide.
George became attorney general after Epstein's death and her office sued his estate, ultimately garnering a $105 million settlement on behalf of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
George said the island was a place for Epstein to hide his criminal activity and when asked in 2020 why she was pursuing a lawsuit after his death, she answered: "Why not now?"
"I cannot speak to what happened in the past," she said. "What I do know is that because of Epstein's wealth and power he was able to conceal a lot of this."
Some air traffic controllers and other airport personnel reported seeing Epstein with girls who appeared they might be preteen, according to the complaint.
When he was alive, authorities were stopped at the dock and told they could not enter the private property, George said.
"Remember, he owns a whole island," she said. "So it wasn't a situation where a child or a young woman would be able to just break away and run down the street to the nearest police station."
One 15-year-old alleged victim, however, tried to escape Little St. James by swimming, according to the lawsuit.
Before he faced sex trafficking charges in 2019, Epstein cut a deal with prosecutors in 2008 after pleading guilty to two state charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor in Florida.
Under the non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty to lesser state charges and served 13 months in jail – spending most of that time on work release – and paid settlements to victims. He also had to register as a sex offender.
News of the deal reached the U.S. Virgin islands, and charter boat Captain Jim Query told CBS News in 2020 there was talk that Epstein had "gotten some crazy sweetheart deal."
"We were always just told it was a super short sentence and maybe some time of house arrest," Query said. "I never knew if that was true on the island – but that there was basically little to no penalty."
Some people have even referred to Little St. James as "Pedophile Island."
The documents released this week do not contain an actual list of Epstein associates, just names of people connected to the case in some way. However, the flight logs of Epstein's private jet, called "Lolita Express," and other documents have been made public in the past. The plane was often used to fly to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In May, Forbes first reported billionaire Stephen Deckoff bought Little St. James and neighboring 160-acre Great St. James, both formerly owned by Epstein, for $60 million. Multiple villas, pools and a helipad sit on the islands.
Deckoff, founder of private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, plans to develop a "state-of-the-art, five-star, world-class luxury 25-room resort" on the islands to open in 2025, according to a news release about the acquisition.
- caitlin.okane@paramount.com
- 6 min
- CBS News
May 4, 2023 · The private islands that were a nexus in Jeffrey Epstein's depraved abuse and trafficking of young women and underage girls will be turned into a resort destination by a U.S. billionaire. Great...
May 29, 2020 · In 1998, wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein purchased a 75-acre island in the U.S. Virgin Islands for $7.95 million, according to the New York Times. The island, called Little St. James, would become the site of some of his most notorious crimes—and Filthy Rich, a new documentary series on Netflix, catalogues many of them.
- Elena Nicolaou
- 2 min
Jan 10, 2024 · Disgraced financier Epstein bought Little St James in the Virgin Islands in 1998 for a reported £6 million – and he turned it into a paedophile’s haven, trafficking his victims there.
- Katie Boyden
Jan 5, 2024 · She was jailed in 2022 for trafficking girls for Epstein and much of the material in this batch and the 900 pages unsealed on Wednesday had already come to light during her trial.
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Jeffrey Epstein faced sex trafficking charges before dying in jail in 2019. Other visitors to Little St James included Jes Staley, the former boss of Barclays. He resigned from the UK bank...
