Saturday, July 6, 2019 OPINIONS TheVirgin Islands Daily News 11 DAILY „:..„ NEWS Fuunck. Aug. 1,1930, by, Antonio Jur. and Ariel Me..., Sr. Published by Daily News Publishing Co., Inc. Archie Nohigian, Publisher ..1LoweDavls. Edkor The week in cartoons Government turns its back on Jeffrey Epstein's sex victims From the Sun Sett fine, FL Lauderdale. Fla Private Imvyers allowed sexual predator Jef- frey Epstein to escape justice. Epstein's new defense team works for the federal gmerninent. The U.S. attorney for the northern district of Georgia claimed last week that even though prosecutors in South Florida broke the law %then they approml an outrageously light se, tence for Epstein, the deal must stand. B,ing Pak may not actually be on Epstein, legal team, but he has placed the Department of Justice on Epstein, side. an'agrerevIZI; EPstefillietlids a it'll:di; l'Pr=nYt inunp, former President Bill ulinton and Prince Andrew. Between 1998 and 2., E, stein recruited roughly three dozen underage girls — generally from poor and troubled fami- lies—to his house in Palm Beach and sexually abused them. Epstein could have faced fethral sex traffick- ing charges. He could have faced life in prison. Instead, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern Dis- trict of Rorida —Alex Acosta, now Trump, la- bor secretary — gave Epstein immunity on fed- eral charges and allowed him to plead guilty to minor state charges. Then-Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry K.rischer went along. E, stein served 13 months in jail — he was allmked out about haff the time — and had to register with die state as a sex offender Prosecutors never told the victims about the agreement Until the signing of that othous agreement in 2007, the girls believed the FBI was still investigating The victims challenged the deal, which a, plied not j. to Epstein, but also to those who recruited the girls and joined in the abuse. Last February, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Matra ruled