A protest group called “Hot Mess” holds up signs of Jeffrey Epstein in New York. Image by Getty Images

(JTA) — Billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in New York in new sex-trafficking charges.

Epstein, who already is a registered sex offender, was arrested on Saturday in connection with allegations that he was involved in sex trafficking dozens of minors in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005, the Daily Beast first reported.

He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Monday, when the new indictment will be unsealed, according to the report.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The indictment will reportedly allege that Epstein sexually exploited dozens of underage girls by paying them cash for “massages” and then molesting or sexually abusing them in his Upper East Side mansion or his Palm Beach residence, according to the Daily Beast.

The two charges he is expected to receive, one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors, could carry a sentence of 45 years, the report said.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a teenage girl to prostitution. He served 13 months in prison.   A federal judge in Florida in February found that federal prosecutors broke the law when they signed the plea bargain deal with Epstein, since they did not consult with his victims, a violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, which grants victims of federal crimes the ability to confer with prosecutors about a possible plea deal, among other rights.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount