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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 204 _ Filed 04/16/21 Page 195 of 239
States v. Sliker, 751 F.2d 477, 487 (2d Cir. 1984). Here, the defendant’s specific and unique
approach to preparing minor girls to engage in sex acts with Epstein demonstrate the existence of
such an idiosyncratic pattern warranting admission.
Other acts evidence is, like all other evidence, inadmissible under Rule 403 if its probative
value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. See Fed. R. Evid. 403.
Evidence is unfairly prejudicial, however, “only when it tends to have some adverse effect upon a
defendant beyond tending to prove the fact or issue that justified its admission into evidence.”
United States v. Figueroa, 618 F.2d 934, 943 (2d Cir. 1980). Other acts evidence is typically not
unfairly prejudicial where it is not “any more sensational or disturbing than the crimes” with which
the defendant has been charged. United States v. Rolan-Zapata, 916 F.2d 795, 804 (2d Cir. 1990).
Here, as already discussed, evidence regarding Minor Victim-3’s experiences with the defendant
and Epstein are no more inflammatory or upsetting than those of Minor Victim-1 and Minor
Victim-2. Those experiences include a wide range of abuse at the hands of Epstein, including
abuse that the defendant witnessed and participated in herself. Evidence regarding similar events
involving Minor Victim-3, who was of a similar age and experienced similar types of sexual
contact, is no more “sensational or disturbing” than the other acts detailed in the Indictment. /d.
Evidence of other acts involving the grooming or abuse of minor victims is regularly admitted for
similar purposes in cases where charges allege sexual activity with minors. See, e.g., United States
v. Vickers, 708 F. App’x 732, 737 (2d Cir. 2017) (“As to the testimony concerning Vickers’
‘grooming’ of his victims, we conclude that such evidence was admissible even under Rule 404(b),
because it was probative of Vickers’ knowledge of how to secure adolescent boys’ trust so that he
could sexually abuse them. We identify no abuse of discretion in the district court’s decision to
admit all of the challenged testimony [regarding uncharged acts of sexual abuse] under Rule
168
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Dates
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00003129.jpg |
| File Size | 763.7 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.8% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,256 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 16:31:11.464203 |