Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Unidentified accusers of late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Wednesday, charging that the FBI repeatedly failed to investigate the wealthy financier on sex trafficking charges despite credible tips.
The 12 women, each only recognized as Jane Doe, filed a 27-page federal civil lawsuit in New York, where they claimed time after time the FBI had declined to follow up on information against Epstein from 1996 through 2006, leaving him virtually unchecked.
"For over two decades, the Federal Bureau of Investigations permitted Jeffrey Epstein to sex traffic and sexually abuse scores of children and young women by failing to do the job the American people expect them of it and that the FBI's own rules and regulations require," the lawsuit said.
The victims said the FBI had tips of "rampant sexual abuse and sex trafficking" by Epstein but failed to protect the young women and children who fell victim to him.
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"The FBI has turned its back on the survivor victims, and this lawsuit seeks to hold the FBI responsible for failure to act when it absolutely should have," said Jennifer Plotkin, an attorney at Merson Law in New York, who filed the suit on behalf of the victims, according to CBS News.
Accusations about Epstein involving his sexual abuse have lingered for years, particularly at his multiple residences in Manhattan, Palm Beach, Fla., and his private resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands near St. Thomas, Little St. James.
Epstein entered a complicated plea deal in 2008, where he pleaded guilty to state soliciting a minor for prostitution charges but did not face federal charges that accused him of running an international sex trafficking operation. He served 13 months on the state charges with work release privileges.
Epstein was arrested on federal charges in 2019 when the case was reopened due to public pressure and he committed suicide while in custody at a federal prison in Manhattan.
"The FBI purportedly neglected to adequately investigate the abuse or provide assistance to the victims," the Merson Law said in a statement. "This negligence allowed Epstein and his co-conspirators to continue their exploitation of vulnerable young women with impunity."
