Lawmakers in New Mexico unanimously approved new legislation on Monday authorising a probe into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, located 30 miles from Santa Fe.
The legislation created a special committee of state representatives, including two from both the Democratic and Republican parties, to investigate happenings at the ranch and related allegations of criminal activity, Hill reported.
The effort, which cost Rs 20.8 crore, according to Reuters, coincided with a federal push to release new information tied to Epstein and his associates, led by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico, and as we’ve learned, you know, there were local politicians and other people that were aware of what was happening in New Mexico,” attorney Sigrid McCawley, whose law firm represented hundreds of Epstein survivors, told Reuters.
The survivors allegedly abused at the ranch included the late Virginia Giuffre, who had said she’d visited the ranch many times, per Reuters.
Epstein was named in several civil suits accusing him of sexually assaulting girls at the ranch, but he was never charged as a result of the allegations, according to Reuters.
“There were clearly activities that took place here under the guise of Jeffrey Epstein … and other perpetrators,” state Rep.
Andrea Romero (D) told Axios in a phone interview.
Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas attempted to investigate Epstein’s crimes in 2019 but was told to halt the probe by federal prosecutors to avoid a “parallel investigation,” Reuters also reported.
However, current state Attorney General Raúl Torrez assigned a special agent to handle any new crimes discovered as a result of state lawmakers’ investigation, spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez told the outlet.
The New Mexico Department of Justice also sent a letter to the federal DOJ requesting an unredacted copy of a 2019 email from an anonymous sender that alleged two “foreign girls” were buried at Zorro Ranch, according to Source NM.
