- Jeffrey Epstein’s private island has become a tourist attraction after he was charged with sex trafficking and found dead in his jail cell, according to a report from The Associated Press.
- The wealthy financier bought the island in 1998 and locals reportedly dubbed it “Orgy Island” and “Pedophile Island.”
- The owner of a charter boat company told the AP that “no one used to pay attention” to the island, but now “there’s a ton more tourists.”
- Witnesses said they saw Epstein bring teenage girls to and from the island, a woman claimed in a 2015 lawsuit that she was forced into “an orgy with numerous other under-aged girls” on the island.
One of Jeffrey Epstein’s private islands in the Caribbean has become a tourist draw in light of the sex traffic charges brought against the wealthy financier and his apparent suicide in prison on Saturday, according to a report from The Associated Press.
Little St. James, an island in the US Virgin Islands, has received new attention after the FBI raided it for evidence and witnesses said they saw teenage girls travelling to and from the island with Epstein.
The island is now attracting tourists who want to get a glimpse of Epstein’s life and assets, the AP reports.
Jon Stewart, who owns a charter boat company, told the AP that: “No one used to pay attention to it.” He said that now “there’s a ton more tourists.”
One traveller told the AP that he was craning his neck to try and see Epstein’s island from a plane as he flew to another island. “I was just curious where it was,” Dean Bofenkamp said.
“Now everyone is wondering what really happened to him and what’s going to happen to the island,” Yvonne Light, who is staying on a yacht near the island told the AP.
The island has been dubbed “Orgy Island” and “Pedophile Island,” and the names are used by locals, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Epstein bought Little St. James for $ 7.95 million in 1998 and bought an adjacent island, Great St. James, in 2016, for a reported $18 million.
He had not yet built anything on Great St. James, The AP reported.
Federal authorities consider Little St. James Island to have been Epstein’s primary residence in the US.
Little St. James includes a villa-style compound, cabanas, a library, a detached bathhouse, and a cinema in its 78 acres. It also includes a mysterious temple.
As reported by Business Insider