Jeffrey Epstein in 2017. Photo: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP

The Manhattan federal judge overseeing Jeffrey Epstein’s child sex trafficking case has ordered a hearing next week on prosecutors’ request to close the proceedings following the disgraced financier’s death Aug. 10 in his jail cell.

U.S. Judge Richard M. Berman of the Southern District of New York on Wednesday scheduled a “brief hearing” Aug. 27, at which attorneys for the government, Epstein and his accusers were invited to discuss a proposed nolle pros order to drop sex trafficking and conspiracy charges against Epstein.

“The court believes that where, as here, a defendant has died before any judgment has been entered against him, the public may still have an informational interest in the process by which the prosecutor seeks dismissal of an indictment,” Berman wrote in a one-page order.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment Wednesday on Berman’s order.

Epstein’s death—ruled a suicide by New York City’s chief medical examiner—while in federal custody at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center has sparked outrage among his accusers, many of whom had hoped to face their abuser in court. Attorneys for Epstein’s accusers have instead vowed to pursue justice through civil suits against Epstein’s estate, which is valued at more than $577 million, according to documents filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr, meanwhile, has ordered a series of staffing changes within the Department of Justice, ousting MCC’s warden and naming a new director for the Bureau of Prisons. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the DOJ’s internal watchdog have both launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, which was ruled a suicide by hanging.

A criminal probe into the alleged sex trafficking ring remains ongoing, as authorities look into Epstein’s associates and others who may have enabled him.

Darren Indyke, Epstein’s longtime corporate attorney and a joint representative of his estate, has hired criminal defense counsel, as have other Epstein employees, including Lesley Groff, who long served as Epstein’s assistant and coordinated travel arrangements on his behalf.

The New York Law Journal reported last week that, before he died, Epstein tried to set up a fund to help cover the legal costs of employees who may be contacted by law enforcement during the criminal investigation.

So far, at least five lawsuits have been filed in Manhattan federal court against Epstein’s estate, which includes homes in New York, Florida and New Mexico, a fleet of cars, a private jet, an apartment in Paris and a private island in the Virgin Islands.

The most recent string of suits laid out fresh allegations of abuse against Epstein that extended well beyond the 2002-2005 time frame outlined in the government’s indictment. They also took aim at Epstein’s shrouded network of businesses, which attorneys for the accusers said were instrumental in Epstein’s efforts to traffic young women and girls for sex.

Epstein had pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and was awaiting trial next year at the time of his death.

Prosecutors alleged that Epstein paid girls as young as 14 to perform massages that turned sexual and to recruit others to join his ever-expanding network of illicit activity. If convicted, he faced up to 45 years in prison.

This is a developing report.

Read More:

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