Several years ago, I wrote a column critical of Jeffrey Epstein getting a lenient deal in his original sentencing. I got angry replies, including someone in politics who informed me how ignorant I was, and that there was nothing wrong with such a mild sentence. It’s why I’ve been a little gun-shy about writing another column calling for more investigations of Epstein.
But I can’t. I’ve read details of the case and you can see these charges are too serious to ignore. Moreover, once the defendant took his life, all charges against him were dropped. Did these underage minors receive justice, or even treatment for the traumatic physical and mental abuse they received at the hands of some rich and powerful people?
I don’t know if there’s a list. I have no clue who is on it. But I do know from this case what was alleged. And it should make every parent, citizen, Christian, or anyone thinking that abuse is wrong support every effort to get to the truth of what happened, and make sure the victims receive compensation and a chance at a normal life, not a coverup.
Here’s more from the case against the defendant, posted online: “the defendant, sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations.” Also these underage kids were led to “engage in sex acts with him, after which he would give the victims hundreds of dollars in cash. Moreover, and in order to maintain and increase his supply of victims, [the defendant] also paid certain of his victims to recruit additional girls to be similarly abused.”
Also “The victims described herein were as young as 14 years old at the time they were abused by….the defendant, and were, for various reasons, often particularly vulnerable to exploitation. [The defendant] intentionally sought out minors and knew that many of his victims were in fact under the age of 18, including because, in some instances, minor victims expressly told him their age.”
A pizza parlor was shot up by a guy with an assault weapon on the mere suspicion that it was a front for a child sex trafficking ring. The movie “The Sound of Freedom” about Tim Ballard’s work was a call to action to take on human trafficking. It’s understandable how emotional people can get about this subject. It can traumatize the victims.
My students and I presented research at the Association for Private Enterprise Education years ago, looking at states in the U.S. and countries abroad. You can read our research, published in the Journal of Economic & Financial Studies. We found that those places where freedom thrived were better at combating this cruel practice than authoritarian states (socialist or right-wing populist). States with more economic freedom also did better at reducing human trafficking too.
I also understand that these are not normal times. There is hyper-partisanship on almost everything, where an issue is looked at with a blue or red lens, which tends to “color” people’s perceptions for any problem before the United States. This cannot be one of those times. We need to understand that the sexual abuse of children is never right, or can be explained away, or hushed up due to politics, or should be swept under the rug. And if someone teamed up to engage in similar acts as the defendant, they should be held accountable for what they did, no matter what their political party is. And I thank those risking their careers to uncover the truth.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.
