| Advertisement |
Nov. 15 (UPI) -- French authorities Friday put out a new call asking possible sexual assault victims of wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein or witnesses to come forward to speak with investigators. The controversial Epstein, who had connections with the powerful players President Donald Trump, former president Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew of Britain, was accused of underaged sex trafficking before killing himself in a New York federal prison in August.
Advertisement
France opened its own investigation of Epstein in August after discovering he owned an apartment in Paris and U.S. authorities connected him with numerous French nationals. Police arrested Epstein in July after he returned from a trip to France.
"On Aug. 23, the Paris prosecutor's office asked the French judicial police's Central Bureau for Violent Crime to investigate the conduct of Jeffrey Epstein and his connections," French law enforcement said in a statement released on Twitter. "Given the complexity of the case and its international implications, we are once again asking victims and witnesses to come forward.
"The judicial police are mobilized and ready to receive statements from victims and witnesses of sexual harassment or assault. Police are urging anyone with information to come forward, regardless of when the incident occurred, what the circumstances were and who was involved," it continued.
On Thursday, executors of Epstein's estate asked a judge in the U.S. Virgin Islands for approval to set up a voluntary compensation program for his victims. The fund would be run by an independent claims expert.
Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, co-executors, asked for expedited approval of the voluntary claim in documents filed in probate court in the Virgin Islands. Epstein owned a residence on a private island there.
