Recently, millionaire Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking as well as conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He has been denied bail and if he is proven guilty, he could serve up to 45 years in prison. At this time Epstein has pleaded not guilty. In 2008 Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor into prostitution. He was sentenced with 18 months in prison, and he only served 13. He was allowed to go to his office six days a week and work while serving this sentence. It has come to light that Epstein has abused "dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations," and even paid some of his former victims to help him recruit new victims.

Epstein has an array of powerful friends, including the President of the United States, Donald Trump. Over the years, his social circle also include Bill Clinton and Queen Elizabeth's son, Prince Andrew. Trump once said of Epstein, "I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy, He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side." Given the charges being made against Epstein, this quote from Potus Trump is concerning, to say the least. Since the arrest, President Trump has claimed that he had Epstein had "a falling out," and have not spoken for 15 years.

Former president of The United States, Bill Clinton, denies any knowledge of Epstein's insidious activities, although the two took a total of four trips together in Epstein's private plane throughout 2002 and 2003. The specifics of Epstein's relationship with Prince Andrew are unclear, but they were spotted together after Epstein was convicted as a sex offender in 2008. It is clear that Epstein has a range of friends in high places, and this suggests that these powerful people may have known about his alleged, illegal activities with minors.

The prosecutor who handled Epstein's case back in 2008 in Florida was extremely lenient with this powerful, wealthy man, but it seems that Epstein won't get off as easily this time. It is a complete failure of our justice system that someone who was forced to register as a sex offender for a serious crime was allowed to leave prison and continue to work, when that same justice system disproportionately destroys the lives of poor, POC. The fact that Epstein was allowed this generous sentence exposes the deep corruption ingrained in our government and social systems. While incarceration ruins work prospects and traumatizes the vast majority of those sentenced to prison time, for Epstein it had little effect on his life. In addition, the way Epstein has been treated underlines the fact that in our country, violence against women is not taken nearly as seriously as it should. Hopefully this time, Jeffrey Epstein will be held responsible for his actions and his crimes against these women will be brought to light the way they should be.