Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, associated with several allegations of abuse, have been put up for sale.
Little St James and Great St James, situated in the US Virgin Islands, have been put on the market by the estate of the late convicted sex offender and paedophile.
The islands, which allegedly hosted the likes of Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, attracted a variety of local nicknames during Epstein's ownership, including 'Island of Sin' and 'Paedophile Island', while Epstein referred to one as 'Little St Jeff's'.
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The islands have been listed for $125 million (£95m), reports The Wall Street Journal, with proceeds of the sale going towards resolving outstanding lawsuits and the costs of estate operations, attorney Daniel Weiner said.
Epstein bought Little St James in 1998. The island spans more than 70 acres, boasting a helipad, private dock, two pools, three private beaches and a gym. He then bought Great St James in 2016.
At the time of the financier's death, his estate was valued at more than $650 million. Amid many sexual assault allegations and the conviction of his former partner Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking, it's now valued at less than $190m (£144m).
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Epstein's estate has already paid out an estimated $120 million to his victims of sexual assault via the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program, which closed last year after making payments to approximately 135 claimants.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who's spoken about enduring years of abuse at the hands of Epstein, earlier referenced Little St James in court documents.
She wrote, as per The Times: "The third time I had sex with Andy was in an orgy on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands. I was around 18 at the time.
"Epstein, Andy, approximately eight other young girls and I had sex together. The other girls all seemed and appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn’t really speak English.
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"Epstein laughed about the fact they couldn’t really communicate, saying that they are the ‘easiest’ girls to get along with."
The attorney general of the US Virgin Islands, who attempted to seize Little St James as government property, earlier described the island as "the perfect hideaway and haven for trafficking young women and underage girls for sexual servitude, child abuse and sexual assault."
The complaint alleged: "Epstein and his associates could avoid detection of their illegal activity from Virgin Islands and federal law enforcement, and prevent these young women and underage girls from leaving freely and escaping the abuse."
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If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, US News
Cameron Frew