What happened to Epstein’s ‘pedo island’ after he died? As court prepares to release Epstein’s ‘client list’ a look at Little St James where he groomed and abused young girls but it now set to be turned into a luxury resort next year
Jeffrey Epstein's 'pedo island', aka Little Saint James in the US Virgin Islands, was the center of his horrific child sex trafficking ring.
It was long believed that Epstein harbored a wide range of rich and famous clients on the island. The names of those involved are expected to be released by a New York court this week, five years after he committed suicide in a prison cell.
When Epstein first bought Little Saint James, he paid $7.9 million. Epstein bought the island in 1998 and later made it his primary residence, employing 70 staff.
At the time of his death it was valued at $63.8 million. In the wake of Epstein's death, it was up for sale in 2021 for $125 million. In May 2023, it was sold to billionaire Stephen Deckoff, who promised to turn it into a luxury resort by 2025.
Deckoff is said to have paid about $60 million for the property and Great St. James. Epstein's estate has said that any money generated from the sale of his properties would be used to settle lawsuits.
Two private islands previously owned by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein were purchased in 2023 after being on the market for over a year
Epstein abused underage girls on the island with the help of his confidante Ghislaine Maxwell
Little St James's disturbing past has been extensively documented in photographs, victim testimonies and lawsuits against Epstein and his associates.
Epstein – with the help of his confidante and fixer Ghislaine Maxwell – trafficked many young girls to the island, where they were raped and abused.
Deckoff, the co-founder of Black Diamond Capital Management, plans to open his resort on the islands in 2025. It is thought that the property being on the market for so long was due to the struggle to find a buyer.
The price was reduced from $125 million to $110 million in 2022.
Although Deckoff will remodel much of the island for his planned resort, Epstein's home will remain and be converted into a hotel.
“I am proud to have called the U.S. Virgin Islands home for more than a decade and am extremely pleased to be able to offer the area a world-class destination befitting its natural grace and beauty,” Deckoff told the Financial Times.
Announcing his plans for the islands, Deckoff said: “I am proud to have called the US Virgin Islands home for more than a decade and am extremely excited to be able to make the area a world-class destination befitting its natural grace and beauty. .
“There is simply no place in the world as special as the U.S. Virgin Islands and I am humbled by the opportunity to share its splendor with visitors in a way that delivers economic benefits to the region while preserving its culture, history and natural its beauty should be respected.
“I very much look forward to working with the U.S. Virgin Islands to make this dream a reality.”
The main house on Little St James is surrounded by several other buildings, including the maids' quarters and a huge, square white building on one side of the island that some say is a music room, fitted with acoustic walls.
The sprawling estate Epstein had built on Little St James, with surrounding lawns and a swimming pool. In the background, a jetty extends into the clear, blue water
Deckoff is in the process of recruiting architects and engineers to develop the resort on the islands
Epstein paid $20 million to acquire Great Saint James in 2016 but never developed it.
Deckoff may conclude that building his “dream resort” with such an ambitious timeline is the easy part.
It will be much more difficult to convince wealthy tourists to spend their free time on an island once used by Epstein to rape and abuse young women.
Deckoff has previously said he never met Epstein and first visited the islands after they were for sale.
Photos previously published by DailyMail.com show young girls posing on the paradise island, or giving massages to Epstein while talking on the phone.
Other photos show Maxwell being met by the legion of staff Epstein has recruited to manage the island.
Epstein is said to have imported 200 workers after purchasing the island to build a stone mansion, two guest houses, a helipad and a bizarre gold-domed structure that resembles a temple.
The temple building was built between 2009 and 2013, but it remains unclear what purpose the building served.
Epstein threw parties for the rich and famous at Little St James, with celebrities from Prince Andrew to Stephen Hawking among his guests. In the photo: Jeffrey Epstein is massaged by his assistant Sarah Kellen on his private island
Little St James (pictured) and the neighboring island of Great St James have been bought by billionaire Stephen Deckoff for $60 million
Ghislaine Maxwell is pictured in this undated photo having dinner at Epstein's mansion on Little St James Island
Several of Epstein's victims have recalled the abuse and suffering they faced on the island.
Sarah Ransome, a British victim of Epstein, claimed she was raped up to three times a day during months she was imprisoned there.
She says she was so determined to escape that she devised a plan to swim through the surrounding shark-infested waters. However, she was spotted on the video cameras Epstein had installed on the island and was stopped by his cronies.
Chauntae Davies, another accuser, said Epstein raped her before bragging about his relationship with Prince Andrew. Davies said the disgraced financier became a “monster” behind closed doors.
Prince Andrew has admitted visiting the island but has always maintained he was unaware of Epstein's crimes and never took part in anything illegal.
Davies said she fell into Epstein's clutches when she was a 21-year-old trainee massage therapist in Los Angeles treating Ghislaine Maxwell at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Davies later worked as Epstein's masseuse and as a flight attendant on his private plane, the Lolita Express.
The island has attracted several thrill seekers who have ignored the no-go signs to explore the grounds.
We Are Change's Luke Rudkowski and Jeff Berwick were able to get onto the island and explore Epstein's office, some of the underground hideouts and get close enough to the pedophile's infamous temple on Little St. James to reveal that the building's doors are inside. fact painted on the building.
Rudkowski examined several underground structures, including one that appeared to house the island's generator.
There have also been claims that the island has its own underground tunnel network, although this has never been substantiated.
Epstein's resort also has a ten-person shower for orgies, according to a maintenance worker. Steve Scully said in 2020 that Epstein installed the shower in a bathroom whose walls were covered with photos of naked girls.
Epstein had remodeled his bedroom several times, and during these renovations he installed a “shower with ten shower heads – for group showers,” Scully claimed.
“There were more photos in the bathroom than anywhere else, including of young, barely dressed or half-naked girls,” he added.