Edwards Bradley J - Relentless Pursuit My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein

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Copyright 2020 by Bradley Edwards

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First Gallery Books hardcover edition March 2020

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Interior design by Davina Mock-Maniscalco

Jacket design by Kelli McAdams

Jacket photograph by Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

Author Photo Andrew Goldstein Photography, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN 978-1-9821-4813-3

ISBN 978-1-9821-4815-7 (ebook)

Papa, I miss you. You are my guide every day. Your selfless leadership lives on forever, through all those you taught and influenced during your lifetime.

I N WRITING THIS BOOK, THE protection of our clients and other victims was paramount. For that reason, several names have been changed to protect the identity of certain individuals who wish to remain anonymous. Additionally, we simply could not include all the meaningful histories of the many survivors we interviewed over the years. For those reasons, we have included composite characters in this booknamely, Allison, Savanah, and Seloh. Through each composite character, we were able to share the experiences of more than one survivor of Jeffrey Epstein in a way that both protects privacy and allows for a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the breadth of Epsteins abuse and the history of those he preyed upon.

Finally, with regard to the many conversations that occurred between Jeffrey Epstein and me that are detailed herein, the quotations represent the essence of the words spoken during such exchanges to the very best of my recollection.

M Y PURSUIT OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN on behalf of his victims became my personal lifes mission. Jeffrey Epstein was an intellectually gifted sociopath with unlimited wealth who lived an unconventional and virtually unconstrained life. The rules heand those in his foldlived by were his own. The problem was that his rules didnt account for laws.

Epstein had amassed extensive political and worldly connections. His friends included a former United States president, the current U.S. president, leaders of foreign countries, the greatest scientists on the planet, some of the wealthiest men in the world, and even a member of the British royal family.

But his wealth and connections werent what put him on my radar. It was his lifestyle that did. For decades he used his tremendous fortune to sexually exploit women and girls, some as young as fourteen years old. The more I learned, the more determined I was to bring his manipulation and abuse to an end. When he was finally discovered by law enforcement, his money and connections bought him out of serious trouble. He was able to negotiate an agreement with the United States government that essentially immunized him from the federal sex crimes hed committed against dozens of children. Even more offensive, the government worked with Epstein to keep the immunity agreement concealed from the victims he had abused.

One victim, Courtney Wild, hired me as her lawyer to make sure her rights as a crime victim of Jeffrey Epstein were protected. At first, that sounded as if it should have been easy. It was anything but. Over the course of eleven years the investigation had taken me all over the United States and beyond. I had represented more than thirty victims in lawsuits and claims against Jeffrey Epstein, multiple personal lawsuits, and an unprecedented pro bono case that itself spanned more than a decade. In the end, however, justice was finally served. Epstein was arrested. He was incarcerated for only a month before he escaped responsibility once again, this time by committing suicide in a federal correctional institution in New York.

Had it not been for some very courageous women, there is little doubt Jeffrey Epstein would have continued to harm young girls on a massive scale while globetrotting with his dedicated followers. He was the master of his universe, ruling through manipulation and absolute control. After years of being pursued, fighting one legal battle after another, he was eventually captured. Still, he managed to stay in controlby choosing the way he left his universe behind.

Even though he died, the story of Jeffrey Epsteins crimes should not. I believe I owe it to my clients, the brave women who came forward to seek justice, and the good people who risked their privacy and safety to help us hold Jeffrey Epstein accountable to share what really happened during this time in history.

I T WAS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2019. I was in Naples, Florida, with my wife, Terry, and our three sons, Blake, Cashton, and Austin, enjoying the Fourth of July holiday weekend with several other families from our hometown of Fort Lauderdale. We spent the day hanging out at the hotel pool and throwing a football around until suddenly black clouds came out of nowhere and filled the sky. Within minutes, a lightning bolt shot down and thunder drowned out the lifeguard whistles as everyone was asked to evacuate the pool area. We corralled the children and ushered them inside.

Cooped up in a hotel room, the kids were bouncing off the walls, and the adults wanted a break. One of the other dads and I volunteered to take all the kids somewhere to let them run off their energy. We loaded up two cars with ten children ranging from four to fourteen years old and went to the local bowling alley.

As soon as I parked, my phone rang. It was my law partner Stan Pottinger. Making a concerted effort not to let anything disrupt my family time, I didnt answer and shoved my phone back in my pocket. It was still raining so hard you could barely see. The kids and I opened the car doors and made a run for it. We quickly realized we were not the only ones in town with this idea. The alley was packed. And loud. The kids immediately dashed to the counter. While I was trying to pay for the shoes and lanes, my phone kept ringing. Stan again. I thought to myself, This is strange He never does that. Still, I couldnt answer at the moment.

What size shoes do you need? asked the clerk. Most of the kids, excited to get bowling, just started yelling out shoe sizes simultaneously.

I dont know what my shoe size is, shouted my friends four-year-old daughter, Callie. I placed my phone faceup on the counter while lifting Callie in the air to show the clerk her foot so that he could take his best guess at her size.

Your phone is ringing, Callie said. I looked down. It was Stan again. This had to be important. After I helped Callie get her shoes on and find a lightweight bowling ball, I asked the other dad to watch the kids while I made a quick call.