The Latest: New Mexico authorities investigating Epstein

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — The Latest on developments in the sex trafficking case against financier Jeffrey Epstein (all times local):

1:10 p.m.

New Mexico authorities say they are investigating sexual abuse accusations against financier Jeffrey Epstein who is already facing federal sex trafficking charges.

Epstein owns a ranch south of Santa Fe.

State attorney general spokesman Matt Baca said in an emailed statement Friday that the office was interviewing people who say they were victims of Epstein. It plans to forward any evidence to federal authorities.

Baca says his office has been in contact with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Epstein pleaded not guilty this week to sex trafficking charges brought by that office.

He is accused of paying underage girls for massages and then molesting them at his homes in Florida and New York in the early 2000s.

An email seeking comment was sent to a lawyer for Epstein.

___

12:10 p.m.

Information that could shed light on jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein’s wealth will be kept secret ahead of a Monday bail hearing in his New York sex trafficking case.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said Friday that Epstein’s lawyers can file documents related to his finances under seal, keeping them out of the public docket.

Prosecutors complained to Berman in a letter on Thursday that Epstein’s lawyers hadn’t filed the paperwork, making it impossible to “meaningfully respond” to their argument that he should be held on house arrest pending trial.

Berman rejected prosecutors’ request for more time to file their response. It’s due by 5 p.m. Friday.

Prosecutors say Epstein is a flight risk and want him held without bail pending trial.

Epstein’s lawyers favour house arrest at his Manhattan mansion.

The Associated Press

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today