There are many people with questions to answer.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/...tion=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage
The arrest of Jeffrey E. Epstein on federal sex-trafficking charges has focused attention on the lenient plea bargain that state and federal prosecutors reached with him in Florida over similar charges more than a decade ago.
But the new indictment has also unexpectedly renewed scrutiny of another prosecutor’s treatment of Mr. Epstein: the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr.
During a hearing in 2011, a seasoned sex-crimes prosecutor from Mr. Vance’s office argued forcefully in court that Mr. Epstein, who had been convicted in Florida of soliciting an underage prostitute, should not be registered as a top-level sex offender in New York.
Instead, the prosecutor, Jennifer Gaffney, asked a judge to reduce Mr. Epstein’s sex-offender status to the lowest possible classification, which would have limited the personal information available to the public, and would have kept him from being listed on a registry of sex offenders for life.
Justice Ruth Pickholz vehemently denied the request and expressed incredulity that the district attorney’s office would argue in support of a man accused of sexually molesting dozens of teenage girls in Florida.
“I have to tell you, I’m a little overwhelmed because I have never seen a prosecutor’s office do anything like this,” the judge told Ms. Gaffney.
Mr. Vance has said the request was a mistake and had been made by Ms. Gaffney without his knowledge.
Still, his office’s decision to take Mr. Epstein’s side in the hearing drew renewed criticism this week, as federal prosecutors in Manhattan brought new charges against Mr. Epstein, a wealthy financier whose social circle has included President Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
Mr. Epstein’s lawyers, Mr. Lefkowitz and Sandra Musumeci, also argued for the lower rating. They noted their client had been rated a level-one sex offender in the United States Virgin Islands, his legal residence, and had received a similar rating in Florida.
Five months before the hearing, the lawyers had supplied Manhattan prosecutors with a deposition in which the lead prosecutor in Palm Beach, Lanna Belohlavek, told detectives “there are no real victims here,” Ms. Musumeci said in court.
Justice Pickholz was unmoved and labeled Mr. Epstein a level-three sex offender, which meant his name and address would be on a state registry of sex offenders for life. His lawyers appealed the decision, but an appellate panel upheld the ruling.
During the appeal, the Manhattan district attorney’s office did an about-face, admitting Ms. Gaffney had misinterpreted the law and stating there was “no basis for a downward departure” from the highest rating.
