Above is a high school photo of Jimmy L. Atkins surrounded by public records from various aspects of his life, from Ohio business documents to a police records filed in an embezzlement case involving an employee of his Harbour Realty on Hilton Head, S.C., to an Indiana death certificate. The employee was the mother of a then-teen girl who later claimed to FBI agents that Atkins sexually assaulted her in the 1980s. Atkins was never charged or officially accused of such by authorities.
HILTON HEAD — Jimmy Atkins swept into town in the blur of the 1980s, when investors were transforming the once-sleepy sea island into a mecca of luxury homes, beachfront hotels and world-class golf courses.
Atkins’ business back in Ohio was running trade schools. But on Hilton Head, he took over a small company that specialized in long-term rentals. Property in the island’s gated subdivisions, called plantations in reference to the local antebellum history, attracted vacationing families and wealthy retirees. Corporate executives and global financiers descended by private plane to survey the frenzy some two decades into the island’s transformation.
At Harbour Realty and Rentals, with an office near Coligny Beach, Atkins came into contact with a teenage girl who would later claim to the FBI that she was sexually assaulted by him and a youngJeffery Epstein, the infamous and now deceased sexual predator. She alleged to agents that the two men also conspired to extort her mother to embezzle money. The mother eventually ended up in prison.
“Her mother informed her late in the process that they were in trouble, that she had seen photographs...and that she was paying people money," an FBI agent wrote in an interview summary, referring to alleged nude photos of the teen.
She detailed her claims in a series of four FBI interviews in 2019, thefirst of which chronicledher allegations of rapes, beatings and other torture at the hands of Epstein.
Accounts from theother three meetings remained hiddenfrom public view for weeks. The U.S. Department of Justice said it was a clerical error. Critics called it part of a coverup.
When finally released, the interviews revealed her searing accusations of sexual assault against Atkins and thecurrent president of the United States.
Her assault claims against Epstein, Atkins and Donald Trump remain unproven, and the White House has vigorously denied the assertions about the president. No direct evidence has been uncovered supporting the assault claims.
An ongoing investigation by The Post and Courier has uncovered new details of Atkins’ intersection with Hilton Head and the woman’s family, caught up in emotional and financial turmoil. The newspaper found records that corroborate the alleged victim’s account of Atkins’ background as an educator, his physical appearance and his involvement in the woman’s teenage years.
The former Hilton Head teen correctly told the FBI that Atkins was affiliated with a college in Ohio, perhaps as a dean or “money guy.” She also provided other details that panned out, including his age, hair color and direct association with her mother’s embezzlement charge.
A Substack author this monthpublicly made the linkbetween Atkins, an Ohio college and the embezzlement case from the Hilton Head real estate company.
The Post and Courier scoured public records in five states and used archived state government documents, vital statistics records, a high school yearbook photo, a police report, court filings and old newspaper accounts to trace Atkins and his brief, turbulent interaction with the alleged victim’s family.
Evidence of his presence in Hilton Head adds another element of corroboration to what the woman told federal agents. The Post and Courier has not identified the woman or her mother, in keeping with a company policy regarding alleged victims of sexual abuse.
His Kentucky-based attorney John Berger, had fond memories of Atkins and doesn’t remember him talking about Hilton Head.
