Epstein estate agrees to $105 million-plus settlement with Virgin Islands in sex-trafficking case

The U.S. Virgin Islands has reached a $105 million-plus settlement with the estate of the late-financier and accused sex-crime offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The settlement ends a nearly three-year-long civil suit brought by Virgin Islands Attorney General Attorney General Denise George that alleged Epstein and cohorts used the U.S. territory as base for an extensive sex trafficking operation.

Officials sought to hold Epstein accountable after he was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls and of causing environmental damage on the two tiny islands he owned in the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the Associated Press. 

The islands will be sold as part of the agreement.

Epstein killed himself at a federal jail in New York in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing dozens of girls, the wire service also reports.

An Epstein estate attorney said the settlement does not include any admission or concession of liability or fault by the estate or anyone else, which would include the estate's co-executors, who reportedly were among the co-defendants in the case.

"This settlement restores the faith of the people of the Virgin Islands that its laws will be enforced, without fear or favor, against those who break them," George said.

As part of the settlement, half of the proceeds from the sale of the Little St. James on which Epstein lived – "and on which many of his crimes occurred" George also said – will go to a trust to support victims of sexual abuse.