Two of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims sue Herald reporter Julie K. Brown over book depictions

Two women who were among the underage victims of notorious sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein have filed a defamation lawsuit against Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown.

In the complaint filed Thursday, the two women, Haley Robson and Courtney Wild, allege that Brown knowingly published falsehoods about them in her book, “Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story.”

Brown, the lawsuit claims, falsely wrote that Wild had been raped by Epstein, then had sex with him. And the suit says that the author miscast Robson as “a member of Epstein’s inner circle” after she declined to be interviewed for the book, which was released last year.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade circuit court, was first reported by the Florida Bulldog’s Bob Norman. Brown declined to comment to the Herald on Thursday because she said she had not seen the lawsuit or consulted with her attorney.

Brown was the author of the original 2018 Herald series, Perversion of Justice, which dissected the decision by South Florida federal authorities to not prosecute Epstein, the well-connected multimillionaire who sex-trafficked in a string of underage girls for years but escaped any serious prison time. As part of a deal with the U.S. attorney’s office, Epstein served a little more than a year on state charges in the Palm Beach stockade, where he enjoyed work-release privileges.

The ensuing outrage led federal prosecutors to indict Epstein and his companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, who helped groom and recruit underage girls for the financier. Epstein killed himself behind bars while awaiting trial. Maxwell was convicted and is awaiting sentencing.

Brown’s work had been widely lauded as giving a voice to the victims of Epstein, and she signed a $1 million deal from Harper Collins for the book. A private investigator who spent years probing Epstein also sued Brown in arbitration court, claiming she stiffed him out of money from lucrative book and TV deals; the suit is ongoing.

“This is a private business matter related to Julie Brown and her book. The Miami Herald has no involvement in this lawsuit,” Executive Editor Monica Richardson said Thursday in a statement. “Julie is a dedicated reporter at the Herald who recently covered the Maxwell trial from start to finish and provided our readers with excellent coverage.”

The lawsuit claims that Brown “sought to take credit away” from the victims — especially Wild, who “fought for years” to expose the plea deal, seek Epstein’s arrest and get compensation for his victims. Brown wrote that Wild “told the FBI” about being raped by Epstein and later having sex with him.

“In fact, Ms. Wild never had sexual intercourse with Epstein and was never raped by Epstein,” according to the lawsuit filed by Miami lawyer Jeffrey Gutchess.

Robson and Wild have suffered “shame, humiliation, mental anguish, and hurt feelings” because of the book. The lawsuit asks for damages and a public apology from Brown, who dedicated the book to Epstein’s “survivors,” singling out Wild and three other women by name.

As for Robson, the suit claims, Brown asked to interview her “under the guise of helping Ms. Robson restore her reputation and tell the true story as one of Epstein’s victims. But when she refused, Brown said Robson ‘was making the biggest mistake of your life.”

“With the publication of Perversion of Justice, Ms. Brown carried out the threat by characterizing Ms. Robson not as a victim but rather as an eager participant and co-conspirator in Epstein’s crimes,” the suit said.

This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 9:09 PM.