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Two New Zealand nationals described as being in Jeffrey Epstein’s “inner circle” are understood to have been questioned by US state law enforcement as part of a new investigation hoping to prosecute individuals associated with the late sex offender.
Brice and Karen Gordon worked askeyemployees of Epsteinfrom the early 2000s until he died in federal prison awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
The couple, from Taihape and Dunedin, long managed his properties, including his infamous island and New Mexico ranch, where Epstein abused countless young women.
Since his 2019 death, the Gordons have disappeared, with efforts to contact them unsuccessful.
But now, US prosecutors have tracked the couple down to interview them about their time overseeing the New Mexico property as part of a fresh criminal investigation into Epstein’s vast offending.
Documents released to theHeraldunder the US Freedom of Information Act by the New Mexico Department of Justice show counsel for the department contacted a lawyer representing the Gordons, requesting to speak with them.
The New Mexico Department of Justice launched an investigation into Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women after government files released this year shed fresh light on his affairs at his sprawling property, named Zorro Ranch, in the state.
The department earlier said it has seen evidence of “grooming, trafficking, sexual abuse, and other misconduct tied to the property and to individuals associated with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell”.
Earlier questions to the department about whether they were seeking the Gordons went unanswered.
“As part of that investigation, we would appreciate the opportunity to speak to [redacted] about their time at Zorro Ranch,” the released correspondence from late June this year states.
A lawyer for the Gordons, whose name is redacted from the documents, responded to organise a meeting to discuss further.
Further released files, dated days later, include an invoice from a legal resources firm for the transcription of 93 pages of interviews with Brice and Karen Gordon as part of the state’s investigation.
It comes as a parallel investigation into the property by New Mexico lawmakers described the Gordons as being in Epstein’s “inner circle” as employees at the ranch, and details Brice Gordon’sinvolvement in supplying masseuses for Epstein.
Many of Epstein’s victims have said they were initially recruited to give him massages before being subjected to sexual abuse.
