When NEWSREP first wrote about the controversy—some would argue cover-up—in 2015 involving an underage sex trafficking ring run by billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, he hadn’t been indicted. But on Saturday July 6^th, Epstein was arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after flying back from Paris on his private jet. Federal agents broke down the front door to his upscale New York City apartment, where they found a “vast trove” of lewd photos of minor and young women, according to CNN. Epstein now faces a formal indictment.

Epstein, 66, allegedly ran a large scale sex trafficking network between Palm Beach, Florida and New York City that abused girls as young as 12. This case actually goes back more than a decade. In 2007, he received a sweetheart plea deal from Alexander Acosta, then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and now the U.S. Secretary of Labor. After pleading guilty to “minor state prostitution charges” of a 17-year-old girl, Epstein’s deal resulted in a 18-month sentence, of which he served 13. His deal allowed him to sleep in the Palm Beach County jail but commute to his office each day. A judge recently ruled this deal violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act of many of his victims, who weren’t informed of it.

It was likely the groundbreaking work of Julie K. Brown at the Miami Herald that busted this story wide open, led to the previous plea deal being thrown out, and Epstein’s arrest this weekend.

From NEWSREP’s 2015 article:

Only in fiction do billionaire playboys use their fortunes and talents to fight crime and deal out vigilante justice. In reality, at least one of them uses his powerful position for vain, petty, and psychopathic purposes.

In this case, investment banker Jeffrey Epstein ran an international pedophilia network which trafficked girls as young as 12 for sex with the American and British elite class.

Epstein’s pedophile network is alleged to included Prince Andrew, Epstein’s lawyer, the daughter of a disgraced publishing mogul (and probable Mossad asset), and the owner of a modeling agency. Many others are expected to come to light in the future. Bill Clinton was even present at some of the parties that Epstein held on his private island. Interestingly, this story has blown up in the British media, but the American press has been almost completely silent on the matter. Perhaps it has something to do with Hillary Clinton and her expected run in the next presidential election.

As it turns out, Epstein was also running a robust blackmail operation. By providing underaged sex slaves to British and American elites, he was able to make secret recordings of some of these encounters, holding them for blackmail purposes. What this could mean to Hillary Clinton’s presidential nomination is unclear.

More than 40 victims have been identified in Epstein’s pedo-trafficking network. It is a scandal that should shake America and force us to wake up to the reality of human trafficking, but the unfortunate reality is that this story, like so many others, will simply fade away.”

On Monday in federal court, Epstein pleaded not guilty to charges of “sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors.” If convicted, he faces up to 45 years in prison.