Judge orders case against Epstein over
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the sex trafficking case in New York against Jeffrey Epstein to be formally dismissed following the financier’s death in a Manhattan jail earlier this month.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman signed a “nolle prosequi,” ruling that the case will be dismissed, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Hill. Prosecutors had requested the charges be dropped last week.
A spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed to The Hill that an investigation into any alleged co-conspirators in the case would continue.
“Because Jeffrey Epstein, the defendant, died while this case was pending, and therefore before a final judgment was issued, the Indictment must be dismissed under the rule of abatement,” Thursday’s filing reads.{mosads}
The criminal case was expected to be dismissed after Epstein’s death Aug. 10, but Berman said he would allow the case to continue until after the disgraced financier’s accusers had a chance to testify in court.
More than a dozen women who accused the financier of sexual abuse shared their stories in a courtroom on Tuesday.
Prosecutors had maintained earlier this month that Epstein’s apparent suicide would not stop efforts to pursue justice for accusers in the case.
Attorney General William Barr warned after Epstein’s death that any alleged co-conspirators “should not rest easy,” saying prosecutors would continue to aggressively pursue anyone who enabled the disgraced financier.
Epstein was indicted in July on one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and one count of sex trafficking minors. He pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges earlier this year and was in jail awaiting trial.
Updated at 1:55 p.m.
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