After "Surviving R. Kelly" and "Leaving Neverland", the next documentary about alleged sexual assaults by prominent personalities is stunned. In the four-part Netflix production "Jeffrey Epstein: Stinkreich" (since May 27), creator Lisa Bryant deals with the American investment banker (1953-2019), whose life, machinations, relationships and, not least, his death are still countless Raise questions. The disclosure document tries to answer the most urgent of them, for example, what role the Epstein confidante Prince Andrew (60) now played in all of this.
Money = power = freedom
At the beginning of the documentary, it is first shown how Epstein accumulated his million-dollar fortune and consequently made contacts in high society, which include former US President Bill Clinton (73) and now incumbent President Donald Trump (73). Relationships and his money were used by Epstein to commit untamable sex crimes for decades. Even when he found himself guilty of prostitution in 2008, he got away with a ridiculous prison sentence because of a dubious deal, the documentary suggests.
For what another would have been behind bars for a lifetime, Epstein was given 18 months in prison, 13 of which he had to serve, thanks to the agreement with the prosecutor, later referred to as the "sweetheart deal". After only three months, he was allowed to leave the prison for up to twelve hours a day. Through the "abuse of power and money," attorney Brad Edwards is quoted in the documentary, Epstein created a "pyramid scheme of harassment", in which the most powerful members always protected each other from just punishment. So did Prince Andrew?
What role does the Queen's son play?
The friendship between Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew is also covered in the documentary. A woman named Virginia Roberts-Guiffre claims to have been introduced to the Royal through Epstein and entrepreneur Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17 years old. Then Maxwell said to her: "You have to do the same for him (Prince Andrew, ed.) As you do for Jeffrey." Immediately after this sentence, according to Roberts-Guiffres, Prince Andrew abused her.
Roberts-Guiffre also reports of a perfidious guessing game that was played at her first meeting with Prince Andrew: "What do you think, how old is this Virginia?", Maxwell wanted to know from the Royal. He then correctly guessed 17 and said: "My daughters are almost the same age." Prince Andrew or one of his family members did not speak on the show to justify himself. According to the creator of the documentary, the British royal family has refused any request for interviews regarding these massive allegations.
Epstein's mysterious death
In July of last year, Epstein was arrested for a new investigation. Between 2002 and 2005 he is said to have operated a sex trade ring together with Maxwell. As a result, hundreds of underage girls were forced into prostitution and sexually abused. But a process that was supposed to start in June of this year never happened. Shortly after his arrest, Epstein was found dead in his cell.
"Jeffrey Epstein: Stinkreichreich" investigates the question of Epstein's mysterious death and raises new questions. Did Epstein kill himself? Or was he murdered? The latter theory is found in the documentary in the person of the pathologist Cyril Wecht an alleged advocate. In his eyes, fractures found on the body would argue against the fact that Epstein had committed suicide. A woman named Chauntae Davies, who herself accuses Epstein, believes in a conspiracy: "I'm sure that many wanted to see him dead. He had a lot of information about people" – powerful people, she suspects in the series.
Is there hope for justice for the victims?
Because Epstein bequeathed all of his money to a fund shortly before his death, there is little chance of financial compensation for his victims, according to "Jeffrey Epstein: Stinkreichreich". What remains to the victims is hope that Epstein's 2008 "sweetheart deal" will be overturned. To date, this has protected all alleged Epstein accomplices from legal persecution – such as Ghislaine Maxwell, with whom he is said to have operated the sex ring.