Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.At least a dozen more women have come forward with new allegations that they, too, were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein when they were underage.Lawyers in New York and Miami who have represented the accused rapist’s victims in the past and present say they’ve been approached by women who allege that Epstein preyed upon them, according to the Miami Herald. The allegations have rolled in following Epstein's arrest July 6 at a New Jersey airport coming off a private flight back from Paris.New York lawyer David Boies said he has been approached by four women. Palm Beach attorney Jack Scarola said he’s been approached by at least five women. And at least 10 other women have approached lawyers who have represented Epstein’s past alleged victims, according to the Miami Herald.“The people we are speaking to are underage victims in Florida and in New York,” Scarola told the paper. “They are not individuals whose claims have previously been part of any law enforcement investigation.’’The new wave of alleged victims comes as Epstein’s attorneys are asking federal judge Richard Berman to permit the registered sex offender to await trial in his $77 million mansion on the Upper East Side of Manhattan wearing a GPS ankle bracelet — the same mansion where Epstein, now 66, allegedly abused girls as young as 14 from 2002 to 2005.READ: Woman says Epstein raped her when she was 15: "He was like, It's OK. You're fine."In exchange for the deal, Epstein has promised to offer up the mansion, ground his private jet and hand over his passport as collateral.Judge Berman is set to make a decision regarding the proposal on Monday.Jeffrey Epstein was first convicted in 2008 after a three-year investigation determined he was basically running child sex rings out of his homes in Miami, New York, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for at least six years. He narrowly avoided sex trafficking charges and instead pleaded guilty to lesser Florida state charges of soliciting prostitution from the young girls. Epstein was also able to avoid his 18-month stay in state prison, instead serving his sentence in a private wing of the Palm Beach County Jail, where he was allowed to leave for work 12 hours a day for six days a week. He served just 13 months before being released on probation in 2009. Upon release, he was given the lifelong designation of a Level 3 sex offender in the state of New York.Since Epstein’s arrest, U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta — then the U.S. Attorney in Miami who oversaw the Epstein case over a decade ago — has been on the defensive about his decision to give the billionaire such a lenient plea deal. On Wednesday, Acosta didn’t apologize for his controversial decision in the case but called out Epstein’s actions as intolerable.“He’s a bad man, and he needs to put away,” Acosta said during a press conference Wednesday.The damage control didn’t work. Acosta resigned from his post under the Trump administration Friday morning.Epstein is now once again facing sex trafficking as well as conspiracy to traffic minors for sex. It is alleged that he had as many as 40 underaged girls visit his homes. He offered young girls money, promised lofty careers and affection in exchange for sexual favors. He also used his victims to solicit other young victims — a common practice used by child predators, as reported by VICE News.Epstein has pleaded not guilty. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
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