Judge dismisses Jeffrey Epstein's criminal case

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Manhattan dismissed a sex trafficking case against financier Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday, less than a month after he died in jail.

Prosecutors asked District Judge Richard Berman to drop the criminal case against the multimillionaire, a routine process after the death of a defendant. Epstein killed himself Aug. 10 while awaiting trial on the charges.

Berman initially declined to rule on the prosecutors' request during a hearing Tuesday in which Epstein's accusers spoke about their frustration that he wouldn't face justice. Dozens of women spoke during the hearing, including Chauntae Davies, who said Epstein raped her after she was recruited to be his masseuse.

Courtney Wild, who said Epstein began abusing her when she was 14, called him a coward for killing himself before trial.

"I feel very angry and sad. Justice has never been served in this case," she said.

Epstein, 66, was arrested last month as part of a joint New York City Police Department-FBI investigation and he was charged with one count each of sex trafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty.

The millionaire financier, who was forced to register as a sex offender in Florida for a separate 2008 conviction, was accused of giving girls "hundreds of dollars in cash" to engage in sexual acts at his mansions in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Fla., and sometimes paid victims to recruit victims. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said the reported incidents occurred between 2002 and 2005.

Although Epstein is dead, many of his accusers are still seeking some form of justice, in either criminal or civil court.

Since the millionaire's suicide, three more women have filed suits against his estate.