Santa Fe, New Mexico — Days after disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein apparently hanged himself in jail, agents raided his private resort in the Virgin Islands. As of Wednesday evening, they haven’t checked out his sprawling Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.
According to multiple alleged victims, it played a key role in the convicted pedophile’s alleged sexual abuse dating back to at least the mid-90’s.
Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre has said she was trafficked to the ranch as an underage sex slave, sharing photos of herself on the property taken when she was about 17. An accuser, identified as “Priscilla Doe” claimed in a new lawsuit Tuesday that Epstein coerced her to engage in sex acts there between 2007 and 2010.
It’s those alleged crimes that prompted State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard to do something unusual for a land administrator: turn over more than 400 pages of records to state prosecutors probing those alleged crimes.
“I know that there are nominal cows that were run on this ranch. But no, it’s not your typical ranching operation in New Mexico,” she said. “I certainly think there was a veil of secrecy. Access to state land was very secure and prohibited almost.”
It was there that Epstein allegedly said he ”hoped to seed the human race with his DNA by impregnating women.” The ranch is the only Epstein property in the U.S. that has not yet been raided by federal agents. In the meantime, the state attorney general’s office said it will turn over any evidence to the Southern District of New York, which, despite Epstein’s death, is continuing the investigation into his possible co-conspirators.