Before Jeffrey Epstein became a name that was synonymous with one of the most shocking sex-trafficking scandals in modern history, way before the private islands and mansions came into being, even before the exposing of the web of powerful connections that would eventually unravel, there was a young boy, a 21-year-old college dropout standing in front of a classroom at one of New York's most prestigious private schools.
At the ripe age of 21, Epstein was ready to begin his journey. Many publications today describe that version of him as, "poor, smart and desperate to be rich." So, he reached the Dalton School to apply for a teaching job. Mind you, this was without a formal degree in his hand or any other educational documents to have his back. It was September 1974, and he could have easily passed for a high school student himself. The decision to hire him would prove to be one of the most consequential, and disturbing, personnel choices in the school's history. But how did he get hired at all?
The Dalton School sits on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where students are the sons and daughters of New York City's elite. Famous alumni include Anderson Cooper and Claire Danes HuffPost, and tuition today exceeds $67,000 annually. Yet somehow, a young man from Coney Island with no degree managed to secure a position teaching mathematics and physics to teenagers barely younger than himself.
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Epstein had briefly attended Cooper Union and NYU but had no college degree when he taught at Dalton. He had graduated from Lafayette High School in Brooklyn two years early, demonstrating clear aptitude for mathematics. But formal credentials? Those were conspicuously absent.
The man responsible for Dalton's hiring practices was Donald Barr, father of future U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who served as headmaster until June 1974. Barr made several unconventional hires during his time as head of the school, favoring young people in their early-to-mid-20s whom he saw as smart and energetic. It was unusual for a teacher to be as young as Epstein and to lack a college degree.
From the beginning, Epstein stood out. Students remember him wandering the halls in a fur coat, gold chains, and an open shirt that exposed his chest, wearing bell-bottoms and platform shoes. One former student described him as dressing "flamboyantly" with a "thick New York accent" and being "very high energy and dynamic."
Some students found him engaging. Others saw something more troubling. Millicent Young, a 1976 graduate, said Epstein lacked the authoritativeness she associated with most teachers, noting that "that clear distinction between who is an adult here, and who is a child here, was not what resonated in my observations of him." About a grand total of 8 students reported to The New York Times and NPR about Epstein. "He was much more present amongst the students, specifically the girl students, during nonteaching hours ... it seemed just, it was kind of inappropriate," says Scott Spizer, who graduated from Dalton in 1976.
"There was a mild sense of creepiness," says Kerry Lawrence, also in the class of 1976. "When you had a faculty member that girls were paying attention to, it was somewhat disconcerting."
Most disturbingly, The New York Times reported that he was the only teacher to attend a party for high-school students at which they were drinking. Paul Grossman, a 1978 Dalton graduate, remembered students talking about Epstein's attendance at the party, saying "It was weird. Everyone talked about it."
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