SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State legislators in New Mexico launched an investigation Tuesday into past activity at a secluded desert ranch where financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once entertained guests, and whether local authorities looked the other way.
A bipartisan, four-member panel of state House representatives are investigating allegations that the ranch may have facilitated sexual abuse and sex trafficking. New Mexico lawmakers also say they want to know why Epstein was not registered as a sex offender after pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl and whether there was corruption among public officials.
Democratic state Rep. Marianna Anaya of Albuquerque, a member of the truth commission, urged people to come forward with information about any abuse at the ranch linked to Epstein and other people who made it possible, at a news conference Tuesday.
“That perpetrator could not act alone. They could not run a sex ring alone, they could not commit these types of financial crimes alone. So we know as a commission that enablers must also be held accountable, including the state itself, if needed,” said Anaya . "If you do want to share, we’ll be here and we will be operating with confidentiality.”
Revelations of ties to Epstein have led to the departure or ousting of multiple high-profile people in recent days.
Epstein purchased the sprawling Zorro Ranch in New Mexico in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a 26,700-square-foot (2,480-square-meter) hilltop mansion with a private runway.
The property was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 — with proceeds going to creditors — to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican candidate in Texas for statewide election to the office of comptroller. In a social media post on X, Huffines said the property has been renamed San Rafael Ranch after a saint associated with healing and that his family plans to operate a Christian retreat there.
Huffines said any request by law enforcement for access would be met with immediate and full cooperation.
Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges that he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls.
Truth commission chairwoman and state Rep. Andrea Romero of Santa Fe has said that several survivors of Epstein’s abuse have signaled that sex trafficking activity extended to the ranch, which is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Santa Fe.
Source: WPLG
