It's Not Over Till It's Over

"Epstein is gone, but justice must still be served."
"I hope the authorities will pursue and prosecute his accomplices and enablers, and ensure redress for his victims."
"We have to live with the scars of his actions for the rest of our lives, while he will never face the consequences of the crimes he committed, the pain and trauma he caused so many people."
Jennifer Araoz, rape victim

Jeffrey Epstein pictured with US President Donald Trump in 1997    Getty Images

"[It is] an undisputed fact that multiple witnesses deposed in this case [have testified that Maxwell, daughter of the late British publisher Robert Maxwell] operated as convicted pedophile Epstein's procurer of underage girls."
Court-released documents

"I didn't know who he was. And so when I saw the tag that said Prince Andrew, then it clicked. I'm like, that's who it is. And we went down -- back down to the living room, and she [Maxwell] brought it [inflated puppet of the Duke] in. It was just funny because -- he thought it was funny because it was him."
"I sat on Andrew's lap, and I believe on my own volition, and they took the puppet's hands and put it on Virginia's [Giuffre] breast, and so Andrew put his on mine."
Johanna Sjoberg, witness

Prince Andrew, left, seen with Jeffrey Epstein in New York  
News Syndication

"Today's events [news of the suicide-while-on-suicide-watch in prison] are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein's many victims their day in court." 
"To those brave young women who have already come forward and to the many others who have yet to do so, let me reiterate that we remain committed to standing with you, and our investigation of the conduct charged in the indictment – which included a conspiracy count – remains ongoing."
Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney, Manhattan

US attorney for the southern district of New York Geoffrey Berman has vowed to continue his investigation in to Jeffrey Epstein © JASON SZENES/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Sexual predator, lover of underage girls, party man with connections to high society, the political elite, royalty, Jeffrey Epstein, 66, will not face trial after all. He had much to answer for, and his multitude of victims, many of them in their mid- to late-teens when they were recruited by him with the assistance of Ghislaine Maxwell, British Socialite, former girlfriend of the disgraced billionaire, to service his appetite for under-age sex, are denied the satisfaction of seeing him sentenced to a long stretch of prison.

His evident choice of the long dark night of death has deprived them of that, and they find little joy in knowing he chose death over the revelations to come. On the other hand, much has been revealed in their joint depositions of 2,000 pages of documentation representing lurid details of this man's abuse of teen-age girls. He was well aware that he could be imprisoned for the rest of his natural life. This time, forever. He knew the denouement was due and he dreaded time in prison again.

Which didn't stop him from abusing dozens of girls at his palatial homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach. The strength of his addiction, one he generously shared with friends. Many of whom didn't mind his company at the time, but have good reason to cringe now that their names have been openly linked with his in everlasting public shame and notoriety. But he was found hanging in his cell, and died subsequently. The mystery being how could that happen since he was on suicide watch?

"We are enormously sorry to learn of today's news. No one should die in jail. We cannot confirm rumours as to his cause of death, and we trust that the United States Attorney's Office and the United States Marshalls will thoroughly investigate the circumstances of today's tragedy", stated his lawyers. And they will. And nothing will be found to incriminate any one else as being an accomplice enabling his suicide, or darker yet, machinations to ensure his death as a silencing technique.

After all, he kept quite interesting company. Or perhaps more accurately put, interesting people kept him company in his pursuit of sexual gratification at the expense of his victims. Celebrities, politicians, socialites. Quite a varied lot, too. From former president Bill Clinton to current President Donald Trump, both known for their lack of discretion and penchant for illicit female flesh. While they never made the grade as official sex offenders as Epstein did, their choices speak for themselves.

He trafficked the girls and they enjoyed sharing the privilege of abusing them. Oh, and Andrew, the Duke of York. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, and heavens, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. They can, of course, claim they merely attended some of his lavish dinners, not the sex parties. Which would still, given how widely he was known as a sex addict and offender, and previous charges, question the quality of the company they chose to keep.

In fact, a good many men of good reputation, as academics, scientists and others with popular social media followings because of their high profiles academically, socially, politically, often responded to Epstein's invitations to meet and mingle at sumptuous dinner parties where wine and conversation flowed. All now grimed by their association, however remote, and in some cases, close, to this man whose death is no tragedy. It is his life that brought tragedy to others.

"This relates to proceedings in the U.S., to which the Duke of York is not a party."
"Any suggestion of impropriety with minors is categorically untrue."
Buckingham Palace

“Justice demands that those who acted with him also be held accountable,” said David Boies, left, a lawyer who represents the women who said they were victims of Mr. Epstein. Standing at background left is Annie Farmer; background third left is Courtney Wild, two of Epstein's accusers.  Credit: Richard Drew/Associated Press