I’m glad to see this. Epstein was a bad person and part of a bad story about our ability to protect children.
We often focus on his years with the island and underage, but physically mature, women he provided to a community of influential international figures. It seems these women got on his plane by themselves. At least some of the women were underage, he was accused of sex crimes, and he was arrested.
My outrage is much greater for the much younger (12,13, 14yrs), not fully matured, young women he was convicted of victimizing years before.
I don’t generally suggest that we try to grade rapists on the severity of their offenses, but in Epstein’s case I see things that I want known by parents, by law enforcement and by permissive media commentators.
We don’t want to allow the terminology, “rape”, “sex traffic”, “sexual abuse”, to disguise very different events and threats. Prince Andrew dating a 16-year old is not the same as debauching local girls picked up at the Junior High School. Both offenses may be charged with the same laws, but damage to the victims is likely to be different, prevention efforts must be different, my outrage is different.
Hiding facts in sealed records tempts writers to use generalities rather than specifics. I hope this report about Epstein’s case, although there is a real risk of pain to Epstein’s victims, will help us understand and protect the vulnerable.
As bad as Epstein was, using the establishment using these files to stay in power is worse.
The girl who claimed she was with Prince Andrew was 17 years old, not 16. She was free to leave at any time but she apparently liked the travel, the clothes and the life she was leading at the time. She was not a poor little victim.