Convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein pleaded not guilty Monday to sex-trafficking charges in a conspiracy that allegedly let him abuse “numerous” underage girls inside his Manhattan townhouse and an estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
The multimillionaire financier – who was busted Saturday when he stepped off a private jet at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey – was hauled into Manhattan federal court wearing a dark blue prison outfit and orange sneakers.
When asked how he wanted to plead to the two-count indictment against him, Epstein, 66, said softly, “Not guilty, your honor.”
Among those watching from the gallery was Michelle Licata, who has identified herself as among Epstein’s alleged victims.
The charges against Epstein cover crimes allegedly committed over four years from 2002 through 2005.
The indictment says three unidentified employees helped hire underage girls to give him massages in the nude, during which “Epstein would escalate the nature and scope of physical contact with his victim to include, among other things, sex acts such as groping and direct and indirect contact with the victim’s genitals.”
“Epstein typically would also masturbate during these sexualized encounters, ask victims to touch him while he masturbated, and touch victims’ genitals with his hands or with sex toys,” the indictment alleges.