Manhattan DA Knew Jeffrey Epstein Was a Dangerous Sex Predator but Lobbied for Leniency
Even as the Manhattan DA asked for the billionaire pedophile's sex offender level to be lowered, it had a secret report predicting he'd abuse girls again.

Joe Skipper/Reuters
The Manhattan district attorney's office reportedly had “graphic and detailed evidence” of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophilia crimes before it tried to argue for leniency during his 2011 sex offender registry hearing, The New York Post reports. Before the hearing, Jennifer Gaffney—deputy chief of Sex Crimes at the time—was reportedly given a “confidential state assessment” that said Epstein was a dangerous individual with a high likelihood of committing pedophilia again. The NY State Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders reportedly looked into the “sworn, corroborated accounts” of a number of minor girls who were lured to Epstein's Florida compound and allegedly coerced into having sexual contact with him for money. According to the Post, the assessment recommended Epstein be designated as a level three offender in New York—but Gaffney argued that he only be designated as a level one offender. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ruth Pickholz went against Gaffney's recommendation and designated Epstein as a level three offender, which he remains to this day. Gaffney reportedly could not be reached for comment.
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