Epstein files reveal ties to Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Justice Department released thousands of pages on the Epstein files including letters, transcripts and images. 

Court documents show that a 13-year-old girl was Epstein’s first known victim. The allegations against him trace back to a summer camp at Interlochen in 1994.

A lawsuit filed in New York in May 2020 accuses Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell of years of abuse.

The victim, Jane Doe, claims she met the two at Interlochen Arts Camp in 1994, an area about 20 minutes southwest of Traverse City.

The lawsuit outlines Epstein and Maxwell would take her to movies and shopping and eventually started making sexual references.

When she was 14, she visited Mar-a-Lago, where she was introduced to Donald Trump. Records allege Epstein elbowed Trump and asked him in reference to the girl “This is a good one, right?”

Abuse continued to escalate over the next few years. The girl eventually moved to New York. When she was 17, she alleged Epstein raped her and on multiple occasions after that.

Epstein’s ties to Interlochen was highlighted in testimony from the group’s vice president of finance.

A letter from the group to Epstein thanked him for his $200,000 donation. It was money that went towards building a two-bedroom home known as the Green Lake Lodge, formerly known as the Epstein Scholarship Lodge.  

An Interlochen spokesperson sent News 8 a statement Saturday.

“Interlochen is committed to ensuring a safe, nurturing environment in which our students can excel. We currently have a wide range of measures in place to ensure a safe, supportive environment for all students,” part of the statement read.

“To learn more about our comprehensive safety protocols, please visit our dedicated webpage, where you’ll find detailed information about our practices and approach. The well-being of our students will always be our highest priority.

“As has been previously publicized, Jeffrey Epstein attended Interlochen in the summer of 1967, and he was a donor to Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1990 to 2003.

“When Interlochen administrators learned of Epstein’s conviction in 2008, Interlochen conducted an internal review and found no record of complaint or concern about Epstein. All donor recognition in his name was removed from campus at that time. Subsequent to Epstein’s second arrest in July 2019, we again reviewed our records and found no report or complaint involving Epstein within our records. 

“In keeping with our commitment to child welfare and to candor with our community, we have issued prior public statements about Epstein’s connection to Interlochen and cooperated with prosecutors and several inquiries by the media. And we encourage anyone who may have been impacted by sexual abuse, by Epstein, or any member of the Interlochen community, to report their experience and seek assistance.”