A Miami Herald journalist whose investigation into Jeffrey Epstein led to his eventual downfall is being sued for defamation by two of the late paedophile’s victims.
Julie K Brown’s award-winning investigation into a cushy plea deal Epstein received from prosecutors in 2009 set off a frenzy of interest in the case and shone a spotlight on the dozens of vulnerable young teenagers who were lured into his orbit.
Among them were Haley Robson and Courtney Wild, who this week filed a lawsuit accusing Ms Brown of publishing “false and defamatory statements” about them in her 2021 book Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story.
Ms Brown “falsely stated that Ms Wild was raped by Epstein and then had sex with Epstein multiple times after the rape”, the suit filed by attorney Jeffrey Gutchess in the Miami-Dade County Court alleges.
“Neither is true.”
The court filing claims that when Ms Robson refused to be interviewed for the book, the author threatened her, “saying her refusal would be the ‘biggest mistake of your life’.”
“Fulfilling her threat, Brown then portrayed Robson not as the teenage victim she was, no different to dozens of other victims, but rather as a mini-Ghislaine Maxwell and a member of Epstein’s inner circle, despite knowing that to be a false narrative.”
It states Ms Robson was portrayed as an “eager participate and co-conspirator” in Epstein’s crimes.
The book also “specifically and unambiguously” played down Ms Wild’s role in bringing Epstein’s offenses to light, the civil suit claims.
Her attorney argues that Ms Wild “fought for years” to champion victims’ rights and expose the lenient deal offered to Epstein by federal prosecutors in Florida in 2008 that saw him receive an 18 month sentence for solicitation of girl under 18.
“Knowing Ms Wild had spearheaded each of these major achievements... Ms Brown sought to debase and defame Ms Wild.”
The “libelous attacks” would have lasting effects on the plaintiffs and their families, the eight-page complaint says.
The women are seeking a public apology, compensation, and punitive damages to “deter the defendant’s reprehensible conduct”.
Ms Brown’s Perversion of Justice investigation first ran in the Miami Herald in 2018, and set off renewed focus on Epstein’s crimes the directly led to his arrest on sex-trafficking charges the next year.
The intense scrutiny of Epstein’s decades-long abuse of young girls led to Ghislaine Maxwell’s arrest and conviction on sex-trafficking charges in a federal court in Manhattan in December.
Ms Brown was offered a million dollar advance by HarperCollins and her book was released in 2021.
The Independent has sought comment from Ms Brown, her agent Laurie Liss, but they did not immediately respond.
In a statement to The Independent, Herald Executive Editor Monica Richardson said: “This is a private business matter related to Julie Brown and her book. The Miami Herald has no involvement in this lawsuit.
“Julie is a dedicated reporter at the Herald who recently covered the Maxwell trial from start to finish and provided our readers with excellent coverage.”
