LeJeune Media

(Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from 17-year-old student writer “Butterfly02″ in Jeff LeJeune’s English 102 course, 23 April 2024. Some liberties have been taken with paragraph breakage to more fit the blog model).

In today’s society, many Americans value the innocence in a child’s life. The blissfulness that a child obtains in their growing stages is nearly a perfect reality–a much attainable one that parents would do anything for their child to have.

Unfortunately, this reality is impossible for far too many children. Today’s monsters, such as pedophiles and sex traffickers, crush this very dream when they even come close to the innocent bubble of a child. As good citizens, we should be protecting them at all costs from these monsters, but instead we choose to scroll mindlessly on our cell phones. Indeed, it is the flagrant oblivion and mindless scrolling of the public that allows these sickening acts to continue happening. Since anything with the word “sex” is such a taboo topic, Americans purposefully shy away from anything involving that word. Along with this, I presented earlier this semester that women can be the mastermind behind all of a man’s disgusting acts. 

This, or the cognitive dissonance is too great to accept the sickening truth.

Either way, Americans’ refusal to acknowledge these taboo topics only worsens the chance of excellence that every kid is blessed with–until it is prematurely ripped from their innocent little bubble. 

Prominent sex traffickers, such as Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, are the very monsters of today’s society that prohibit children from reaching their full potential. A sickening truth, these monsters knowingly preyed on students who were still enrolled in high school, causing many of them to never receive their diploma. This means that many of them will never be able to apply for a job with sustainable pay. Epstein and Maxwell even took advantage of young people who were poor and in desperate need of money. By preying on these groups of children, they were able to manipulate their minds into thinking they were and are not good enough for society–ultimately making them give up what once was a seemingly perfect life.

The demons that are littered within our society attack and take advantage of people–especially the most innocent. Therefore, we must take matters into our own hands and protect this very innocence and, in turn, save the future generation of Americans.

Our weak, do-nothing criminal justice system allows pedophiles to continue to rape and groom innocent children. Young girls in high school are still considered to be children. Epstein knew the everlasting damage he could have on them, so as the mentally sick person he is, he knew that high school girls were the easiest and most vulnerable victims.

One of his many high school victims, Michelle Licata, said, “My friend told me in class that she could find a way of making money for Christmas. I didn’t really know what she was talking about, but I was like, ‘Okay’” (Bryant 26:30). Licata was approached by a trusted friend that attended the same high school as she did, as this conversation happened in class. Epstein knew that young girls were inexperienced and oblivious to the sexual acts he had them perform in the comfort of his home. Even Epstein’s neighbor reported an unusual number of “young women going to and from his residence,” but when briefly questioned at Epstein’s house, they all said that they were adults (23:14). Why would his high school masseuses admit to their age–especially when they know they are participating in highly illegal activity with a previously convicted sex offender?

Even though we live in an incredibly flawed reality, our justice system should have at least kept a child sex offender behind bars for more than a few months. This is because “the ineffective human trafficking laws in Florida at the time allowed Epstein to roam free for decades, facilitating the perpetuation and aggravation of his crimes” (Erickson and Dalley 152). By strengthening these human trafficking laws, our justice system would learn how to put away a true monster, but for this to happen, the public must take its power back.

We the people are the sole deciders of every law that passes either through an individual state or America as a whole. Instead of continuously directing our valuable attention into meaningless social media sites, we should be investing it somewhere that will make a difference–saving these children from the sick, sick monsters that plague our world. 

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Epstein not only preyed on high schoolers, but also exploited those who were in desperate need of money.In a general connection that applies here, Bandyopadhyay among others state, “the combination of poverty and gender discrimination is frequently cited as a major reason for trafficking” (ctd. in George et al. 69). Epstein and Maxwell recognized that poverty made these high school girls an easier and more feasible target. Most poverty stricken people have a sense of dependability on society to lend them a hand, so when the two predators saw the opportunity to make money, they took advantage without question.

This is a prime example of the law of unintended consequences, which is when the “outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen” (“Unintended Consequences” para. 1). This manipulative tactic ensures that the underprivileged were not aware of what they were being lured into–proving that Epstein and Maxwell baited them with something they could not turn away. Maxwell says how she “was happy to give career advice” and that being a “professional massage therapist is an excellent job opportunity” (Giuffre v. Maxwell 60).

Of course she thought this, because they were the ones being coerced into doing all the dirty work. She also said that massage therapists would get paid hourly wages “around 7, 8, $9 and as a professional healthcare provider you can earn somewhere between as we have established 100 to $200 and to be able to travel and have a job that pays that is a wonderful job opportunity” (60). Being molested day after day by these sick monsters doesn’t seem like a wonderful job opportunity to me–no matter the amount of money that is being paid. Epstein and Maxwell kept the wages high in hopes that the workers would just forget about the molestation. We must realize that this is flatout bribery being performed by not only Epstein and Maxwell, but also other pedophiles all over the world. As much as I wish that these women could have stood up and protected their innocence, the blame ultimately lies upon the predators–the monsters–themselves. 

In the face of these problems, people are looking for possible solutions to protect us from the danger that is pedophiles. Along with finding solutions, cognizant Americans must help awaken and inform careless citizens about these horrid acts taking place among our society. “This evil goes so far beyond the term ‘child trafficking’ that it has literally made grown men in uniform run outside and throw up when they’ve seen things on a laptop that wouldn’t be fit for hell itself” (LeJeune para. 11). There are far worse evils in this world than just child trafficking, as LeJeune points out, but to avoid mass cognitive dissonance we must take on one issue at a time–also known as breadcrumbing.

On the other hand, there are some things that should be obviously distinguished from right and wrong, such as Epstein’s Non-Prosecution Agreement. Imagine a world where serious sex offenders were “sentenced to only eighteen months in state jail” (Cassell et al. para. 6). Now what if I told you that this very thing happened in the reality we live in today. Crazy, right? During Epstein’s jail term, he “was afforded ‘work release’ to his luxurious office for twelve hours per day, six days per week” (para. 6).

This one seems like the blame should be on our Department of Justice, but frankly, it is our fault for not recognizing this slap on his wrist. Faults like this flood society, and that seems like it won’t be changing anytime soon, so this is where our power can speak to the masses. If we take a few minutes out of our mindless scrolling to educate ourselves on these topics, it will begin to open our eyes to these very faults.

Even something as simple as going to Tik-Tok and looking up conspiracy theories–which most of them are not conspiracy theories at all–can shine light onto so many more heinous, predatory behavior throughout the world. Many citizens are utilizing Tik-Tok, which I believe is one of the best sources to use to awaken people. One such user is John Luke, specifically in his video on the platform referencing a recent disgusting advertisement seen from Balenciaga. He says, “Now, you might be thinking to yourself, I don’t wanna post about this because it seems like people will get over it in a couple of weeks” (Cook 00:05). He then goes on to address another bombshell reality about “drinking the blood of babies…. This isn’t a conspiracy. This is a real thing that real people out there are trying to push into the world to see if we like it” (Cook 00:15).

The groomers of children are seeing if the general public can be groomed as well.

Frankly, there is only one solution to these recurring–but unnoticed–situations, and that is to just simply care. Look in the mirror and know that there is something out there that is more important than yourself. If all or at least most Americans can do this, evil will not stand a chance because God will bless our new attention and hard work for the children.

To save the future generation of America, we must protect the innocent people from the perverts in our society. We must protect the innocent, or else we will be left in a world where sex trafficking and child molestation is the new societal norm. We must take action, and the best thing that we can do for the children is simply to care about them in a real, active way. We must stop the stupid, mindless scrolling that we all–including myself–have grown so accustomed to, and instead replace it with a different type of scrolling–one that is not mindless at all.

The information is right there on our cell phones to discover.

All of that said, a great awakening is happening much faster than even my argument here might suggest. Movies and documentaries like Sound of Freedom, Quiet on Set, and especially Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich just prove that there are people out there who are actively trying to reverse the repulsive behavior of people in society. It is going to take much more than a few movies to stop this hellish nightmare, but it can be done. It absolutely can be done.

As I am becoming more mature, I can go paralyzed at the thought that as time goes by, my children could be the very next ones that a predator-pedophile decides to pursue, and I know damn well that I would do anything–and I mean anything–to put a stop to this disgusting reality.

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Works Cited

Bryant, Lisa, Director. Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich. Netflix Original Series, 2020, Netflix, www.netflix.com. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.

Cassel, Paul, et al. “Circumventing the Crime Victims’ Rights Act: A Critical Analysis of the Eleventh Circuit’s Decision Upholding Jeffrey Epstein Secret Non-Prosecution Agreement.” SJ Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, Utah Law Digital Commons, Dec. 2020, https://dc.law.utah.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1237&context=scholarship. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024. 

Cook, Luke [@thelukecook]. “Don’t let this slide. Don’t get tired. #balenciaga #balenciagaphotoshoot #boycottalenciaga.” Tiktok, 27 Nov. 2022, https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRTSXH2Y/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

Erickson, Katherine F., and Lynette A. Dalley. “Prosecuting Human Trafficking in the Wake of Epstein: A Proposal for the Implementation of Aggravated Human Trafficking Statutes.” Brigham Young University Prelaw Review, vol. 34, article 14, 2020, pp. 151-66, https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=byuplr. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024. 

George, Annie, et al. “Sex Trafficking and Sex Work: Definitions, Debates and Dynamics–A Review of Literature.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 45, no. 17, 2010, pp. 64–73. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25664387. Accessed 19 Jan. 2024.

Giuffre v. Maxwell, United States District Court: Southern District of New York, Case No. 15-cv-7433-LAP, pp. 1-943, 3 Jan. 2024, Boies Schiller Flexner, https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/the-long-awaited-jeffrey-epstein-documents-have-been-released-read-them-here-1.6710144. Accessed 18 Jan. 2024.

LeJeune, Jeff. “Four Years Later: Aftermath of the Epstein “Suicide”–Part II.” RVIVR, 11 Aug. 2023, https://rvivr.com/2023/08/four-years-later-aftermath-of-the-epstein-suicide-part-ii/. Accessed 20 Jan. 2024. 

“Unintended Consequences.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikipedia Foundation, 14 Apr. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.