Guests on ‘Lolita Express’ urged to contact the feds

Sex trafficking suspect Epstein hosted the famous on private jet

After Jeffrey Epstein’s latest arrest on sex trafficking charges, some famous people may be squirming. His notorious little black book and private-jet manifests contained a long list of boldface names, including Victoria’s Secret founder Leslie Wexner and former President Bill Clinton.

U.S. prosecutors on Monday encouraged anyone with information about Epstein’s conduct, not just potential victims, to come forward. To the socialites, celebrities and politicians who attended lavish parties at Epstein’s homes in Manhattan or Palm Beach in the early 2000s — or hitched rides on his private jet nicknamed the “Lolita Express” by the tabloids — the request carried a clear message: Come talk to us before we seek you out.

“You would much rather be visiting the Department of Justice and engaging a conversation about what you saw rather than making the DoJ find you,” said Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor now at Dickinson-Wright. “There’s a much greater potential for influencing the parameters of an interview and the scope of cooperation by going in voluntarily than becoming a compulsory guest” of the government, he said.

Considering the dozens of alleged victims and hundreds of names on Epstein’s contact list, the Epstein affair could be far from over. Some of the alleged victims have claimed they were farmed out to other men.

Although the alleged crimes date to 2002, new information continues to arise. Epstein’s little black book was published by Gawker in 2015, years after he pleaded guilty in Florida for soliciting an underage prostitute. On Saturday the FBI, using a crowbar on one of the most expensive properties in Manhattan, executed a search warrant on Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse. Agents gathered photographs of underage girls in suggestive poses, according to prosecutors.

The call to action by prosecutors and the discovery that Epstein, a registered sex offender, possessed explicit photos could lead to additional charges, Frenkel said.

In this way, prosecutors’ request for more evidence poses a threat to any of Epstein’s associates who also engaged in sex with minors.