EFTA00082672.pdf

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK In the Matter of the Application of the United States Of America for a Search and Seizure Warrant for the Premises Known and Described as 9 East 71st Street, New York, New York and Any Closed Containers/Items Contained Therein TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL Agent Affidavit in Support of Application for Search and Seizure Warrant SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK) ss.: being duly sworn, deposes and says: I. Introduction A. Affiant I. I have been a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") since 2012. As such, I am a "federal law enforcement officer within the meaning of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(aX2)(C), that is, a government agent engaged in enforcing the criminal laws and duly authorized by the Attorney General to request a search warrant. I have been employed by the FBI for three and a half years, and I am currently assigned to investigate violations of criminal law relating to the sexual exploitation of children. I have gained expertise in this area through classroom training and daily work related to these types of investigations. As part of my responsibilities, I have been involved in the investigation of sex trafficking cases, and have been involved in search warrants for physical premises. 2. I make this Affidavit in support of an application pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure for a second warrant to search the premises specified below (the "Subject Premises") for the purpose of seizing the items and information described in Attachment A. This affidavit is based upon my personal knowledge; my review of documents and other evidence; and my conversations with other law enforcement personnel. Because this 1 2017.08.02 EFTA00082672 affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause, it does not include all the facts that I have learned during the course of my investigation. Where the contents of documents and the actions, statements, and conversations of others are reported herein, they are reported in substance and in part, except where otherwise indicated. B. The Subject Premises 3. The Subject Premises are particularly described as a multi-story, single-family residence located at 9 East 71st Street, New York, New York, and include all locked and closed containers found therein. As detailed further herein, the Subject Premises is believed to be owned, possessed and controlled by JEFFREY EPSTEIN, a target subject of this investigation. A photograph of the front entrance to the Subject Premises is included below: C. The Target Subject and the Subject Offenses 4. The Target Subject of this investigation is JEFFREY EPSTEIN. 5. For the reasons detailed below, I believe that there is probable cause to believe that the Subject Premises contain evidence, fruits, and instrumentalities of violations of Title 18, United 2 2017.08.02 EFTA00082673 States Code, Section 1591 (sex trafficking of minors); and Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 (sex trafficking conspiracy) (the "Subject Offenses") by the Target Subject. II. Probable Cause and the First Warrant A. Probable Cause Regarding the Target Subject's Commission of the Subject Offenses 6. On or about July 2, 2019, a grand jury in this District returned an Indictment charging JEFFREY EPSTEIN with the Subject Offenses. A copy of the Indictment is attached hereto as Exhibit A and is incorporated by reference. B. Probable Cause Justifying Search of the Subject Premises The Indictment and Victim-1 7. As set forth in Exhibit A, from at least in or about 2002, up to and including at least in or about 2005, JEFFREY EPSTEIN sexually abused multiple minor girls in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere. During that time and continuing to the present, EPSTEIN possessed and controlled the Subject Premises, which is described in Exhibit A as "the New York Residence." 8. As further set forth in paragraphs 8 through 10 of Exhibit A, from at least in or about 2002, up to and including at least in or about 2005, EPSTEIN sexually abused numerous minor victims at the Subject Premises. In particular, and as alleged in the Indictment, when a victim arrived at the Subject Premises, she would be escorted to a room inside the Subject Premises with a massage table, where she would perform a massage on EPSTEIN. The victims, who were as young as 14 years of age, were told by EPSTEIN or other individuals to partially or fully undress before beginning the "massage." During the encounter, EPSTEIN would escalate the nature and scope of physical contact with his victim to include, among other things, sex acts such as groping and direct and indirect contact with the victims' genitals. EPSTEIN typically would also 3 2017.08.02 EFTA00082674 masturbate during these sexualized encounters, ask victims to touch him while he masturbated, and touch victims' genitals with his hands or with sex toys. Following each encounter, EPSTEIN or one of his employees or associates paid the victim in cash. 9. As set forth in paragraphs 12 through 13 of Exhibit A, to further facilitate his ability to abuse minor girls in New York, JEFFREY EPSTEIN asked and enticed certain of his victims to recruit additional minor girls to perform "massages" and similarly engage in sex acts with EPSTEIN. When a victim would recruit another minor girl for EPSTEIN, he paid both the victim- recruiter and the new victim hundreds of dollars in cash. EPSTEIN knew that his victims were underage, including because certain victims told him their age. 10. One of the victims identified in paragraph 22 of Exhibit A is Victim-1. As part of the FBI's investigation of EPSTEIN, other law enforcement officers have interviewed Victim-1.1 I know from my conversations with other law enforcement officers who have interviewed Victim- 1, that Victim-1 has provided the following information, in substance and in part: a. Between approximately 2002 and 2005, EPSTEIN sexually abused Victim-1 on multiple occasions in the Subject Premises. This sexual abuse all occurred when Victim-1 was under the age of 18. b. During that same period, Victim-1 observed multiple floors of the Subject Premises and numerous individual rooms within the Subject Premises. Victim-1 has provided detailed 1 In meetings with the Government, Victim-1 has disclosed that, approximately a decade ago, she committed marriage fraud in order to obtain a green card and, subsequently, U.S. citizenship. She has also disclosed personal substance abuse, primarily involving the abuse of prescription drugs, during various periods between the early 2000s and 2019. Victim-1 has also disclosed having worked for approximately a year at a "happy-ending" massage parlor, performing paid sex acts. Victim-1 is currently pursuing a civil damages claim against EPSTEIN for his sexual abuse of her. Information provided by Victim-1 has proven reliable and has been corroborated by independent evidence, including documents and records obtained during the investigation and the accounts of other victims whom Victim-1 has never met. 4 2017.08.02 EFTA00082675 descriptions of certain aspects of the interior of the Subject Premises, including Victim-I's memory of specific details regarding the layout, furnishings, decorations, and floor pattern of various areas within the Subject Premises. c. In particular, Victim-1 observed that a bathroom in the residence contained what appeared to be a bust of a human torso (the "Torso"). Victim-1 believed that the Torso was possibly a type of sex toy. d. In addition, Victim-1 recalled observing what appeared to be a taxidermied dog in a living space in the Subject Premises. e. Victim-1 recalled that EPSTEIN typically abused her in a room she described as a "massage room," (the "Massage Room"), which contained a massage table, and was decorated with artwork depicting naked women, hung on walls that appeared to be adorned with fabric. f. Victim-1 has not been in the Subject Premises since approximately 2005. The July 6.2019 Search Warrant of the Subject Premises 11. On or about July 6, 2019, the Honorable Barbara Moses, United States Magistrate Judge, signed a search warrant authorizing a search of the Subject Premises. The search warrant is attached as Exhibit B and incorporated by reference herein. 12. At approximately 6 p.m. on or about July 6, 2019, law enforcement officers (the "Search Team") commenced executing the search warrant at the Subject Premises; I joined the Search Team thereafter. While inside the Subject Premises, I observed the following, among other things: a. Inside a closet within the entryway to a bathroom in the Subject Premises, I observed what appear to be two busts of female human torsos, from their upper pelvis to the neck. In addition, inside the bathroom, I observed a third bust, which appears to depict a female body 5 2017.08.02 EFTA00082676 from the ribcage to the clavicle (collectively, (the "Busts"). The Busts do not appear to be designed for use as sex toys, and appear instead to be artwork. Nevertheless, based on my conversations with law enforcement officers who have interviewed Victim-1, I have learned that the Busts appear to be generally consistent with Victim-1's description of observing the Torso in EPSTEIN's bathroom in the Subject Premises. Accordingly, there is probable cause to believe that the Busts are corroborating evidence of Victim-l's description of the Subject Premises. b. Inside the Subject Premises, I observed a room that, based on my conversations with law enforcement officers who have interviewed Victim-1, appears to be consistent with Victim-I's descriptions of the Massage Room. The room contained a table covered with a sheet, and appears to be a massage table. The walls appear to be covered in a type of felt-like tapestry fabric. I further observed two paintings and three photographs hanging on the walls of the Massage Room. The paintings and photographs depict nude females. One of the photographs appears to depict a nude girl. Based on my training and experience investigating crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children, the girl appears to be approximately 15 to 20 years old. c. Inside the Subject Premises, inside a closet adjacent to a bathroom, I observed a shelf that appears to contain several black binders, with labels on the spine of each binder. In particular, one of the binders is marked with a series of labels, one of which reads: "PB Girls." Given that the Indictment charges EPSTEIN with participating in a conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minor girls in both Palm Beach, Florida and New York, I believe that "PB Girls" may refer to minor victims in Palm Beach, Florida. d. Inside the Subject Premises, in what appears to be EPSTEIN's office, on or about the second floor of the Subject Premises, I observed what appears to be a taxidermied dog (the "Dog"). Based on my conversations with law enforcement officers who have interviewed 6 2017.08.02 EFTA00082677 Victim-1, the Dog appears to be consistent with Victim-I's description of observing a taxidermied dog in the Subject Premises. e. Inside the Subject Premises, I observed in plain view several sheets of stationary, with letterhead marked "Jeffrey Epstein." 13. After observing the foregoing items, the Search Team stopped the search and froze the scene in order to seek a new search warrant. III. Conclusion and Ancillary Provisions 14. Based on the foregoing, given that several items described by Victim-1 as being present in the Subject Premises in 2005 appear to be currently in the Subject Premises, I respectfully submit there is probable cause to believe that evidence of the Subject Offenses, and in particular the items described in Attachment A, will be located within the Subject Premises and therefore request the court to issue a warrant to seize the items and information specified in Attachment A to this affidavit and to the Search and Seizure Warrant. 15. The Search Team is currently at the Subject Premises, securing the location, and would anticipate executing the requested search warrant immediately. However, given the late hour, it is anticipated that the Search Team would commence executing the search warrant after 7 2017.08.02 EFTA00082678 10 p.m. In view of the foregoing circumstances, I respectfully submit that the present circumstances demonstrate good cause to execute the warrant after 10 p.m. Special Agent Federal Bureau of Investigation Sworn to before me on July 6, 2019 THE HONORABLE BARBARA MOSES UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8 2017.08.02 EFTA00082679 EXHIBIT A 9 2017.08.02 EFTA00082680 ATTACHMENT A 1. Premises to be Searched—Subject Premises 1. The premises to be searched (the "Subject Premises") are described as a multi-story single-family residence located at 9 East 71st Street, New York, New York, and include all locked and closed containers found therein. A photograph of the front entrance to the Subject Premises is included below: II. Items to Be Seized A. Evidence, Fruits, and Instrumentalities of the Subject Offenses This warrant authorizes the seizure of certain evidence, fruits, and instrumentalities of violations of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591 (sex trafficking of minors) and 371 (sex trafficking conspiracy) (the "Subject Offenses") described as follows: i. Any and all taxidermied dogs. ii. Any and all massage tables and massage paraphernalia. iii. Any and all busts or three-dimensional representations of female human torsos. iv. Any and all photos or representations depicting nude or partially nude women located in the Massage Room, as defined herein. v. Any and all sex toys and sex paraphernalia located in the Massage Room, as defined herein. 2017.08.02 EFTA00082681 vi. A binder labeled "PB Girls" and any other documents or communications with or regarding victims or potential victims of the Subject Offenses. 2 2017.08.02 EFTA00082682