London’s Metropolitan Police Service Will Take No Further Action in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation

Jeffrey Epstein (C) appears in court in West Palm Beach, Fla., on July 30, 2008. Uma Sanghvi/Palm Beach Post via AP

The UK’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) won’t be taking any further action over allegations made against disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein because of “the absence of any further information.”

MPS said in a statement that it had been contacted in March 2021 with a fresh allegation of indecent assault against Epstein, but that the complainant didn’t wish to make a statement or for officers to pursue the claim.

The police had also been contacted in 2019 with another allegation of sexual assault by Epstein, but that individual also didn’t wish to make a formal complaint or want officers to pursue the allegations, according to police.

The force stated that any further investigations into human trafficking by the convicted sex offender would focus on his activities and relationships outside of the UK.

“The Metropolitan Police Service has been liaising with other law enforcement agencies who led the investigation into matters related to Jeffrey Epstein,” officials said in a statement. “Detectives have thoroughly reviewed information provided to it and in the public domain. In the absence of any further information we will be taking no further action.

“As with any other matter, should new and relevant information be brought to our attention we will assess it.”

MPS had already dropped investigations into allegations of sex trafficking from 2001 made in 2015 against Epstein because the accusation primarily involved figures outside of the UK, according to police.

‘Not the Appropriate Authority’

In a statement at the time, MPS stated that it “always takes any allegations concerning sexual exploitation seriously.”

“Officers assessed the available evidence, interviewed the complainant, and obtained early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service,” the police force stated.

“Following the legal advice, it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the UK. We, therefore, concluded that the MPS was not the appropriate authority to conduct inquiries in these circumstances and, in November 2016, a decision was made that this matter would not proceed to a full criminal investigation.”

Epstein was convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and was sentenced to house arrest in Florida. He was arrested again in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019. Officials said he committed suicide while awaiting trial for the charges.

In June, Epstein associate and former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking young women to be used for Epstein’s sexual exploits between 1994 and 2004. She’s set to be released from prison in 2037.

In February, the UK’s Prince Andrew, who was closely connected to Epstein, settled a lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that Epstein had arranged for the prince to sexually abuse her when she was 17.

Prince Andrew, the duke of York, had categorically denied Giuffre’s claims in her lawsuit, telling the BBC in 2019 that he had “no recollection” of ever meeting her, despite photographic evidence of the two together.

The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount.