NEW YORK _ The woman identified only as Jane Doe 1 fought back tears as she called Tuesday for a continued probe into sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein despite his jailhouse suicide.
"As much of a villain (as) we have created him to be, based on facts, an investigation is the right thing to do," the woman declared at an unusual hearing at federal court in Manhattan, where prosecutors officially dropped their charges against Epstein 17 days after he took his own life.
The accuser, one of several victims who addressed the court, recalled the sick feeling that accompanied word of Epstein's Aug. 10 suicide.
"It felt like a whole new trauma again, and I don't know why," said Jane Doe 1.
Attorneys for Epstein joined in the call for an investigation into his death, while accuser Courtney Wild said Epstein's suicide was just another example of how the multimillionaire played the system to his advantage.
"Jeffrey Epstein has done nothing but (cheat) our justice system, robbing myself and others of our day in court," she said. "And for that, he is a coward. I feel very angry and sad. Justice has never been served in this case."
Attorney Brad Edwards, representing 15 Epstein victims in court Tuesday, echoed Wild's comments about the defendant's suicide.
"The timing is curious to us," said Edwards. "But more so, it makes it absolutely impossible for the victims to ever get the day in court they wanted. To get full justice _ that can never happen."
The hearing marked the first opportunity for many of the victims to speak publicly about the lenient plea bargain deal cut by Epstein with federal prosecutors in Florida. Prosecutors officially dismissed charges of sex trafficking against Epstein, who was accused of transporting underage girls to his homes on the Upper East Side and Palm Beach, Fla.
Epstein, 66, committed suicide inside his Manhattan federal prison cell on Aug. 10, just two days after signing off on a will that valued his estate at $577 million, including more than $56 million in cash.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey promised the case against Epstein's alleged co-conspirators and possible civil forfeiture of his assets did not die with him.
Two federal investigations were launched to determine how Epstein was able to take his own life in the Special Housing Unit at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan.
.png?w=600)
