NEW YORK — The Jeffrey Epstein case has brought national attention to victims’ rights, from prosecutors shunning Epstein’s accusers more than a decade ago to the same women speaking about their suffering at an extraordinary court hearing last month.
If there was a silver lining to the saga, attorneys for the women said, it was the emphasis on the victims that permeated the most recent proceedings — a night-and-day difference from their treatment the first time Epstein found himself under federal investigation.
That enthusiasm was dampened Monday when a federal judge in Florida denied Epstein’s accusers compensation from the U.S. Justice Department, even after ruling that prosecutors violated their rights by failing to consult them about the 2008 plea deal they reached with Epstein.
Jennifer Freeman, a longtime attorney for child sex abuse victims, likened the hearing to the 2018 sentencing in Michigan of disgraced former sports doctor Larry Nassar, in which 156 women read victim-impact statements over seven days.
“This is part of a seismic shift in our culture and our legal system,” Freeman said. “It’s an enormous step forward.”
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