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Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘paedo island’ still patrolled by armed guards, claims urban explorer who visited Little St James
JEFFREY Epstein’s island is still patrolled by armed guards, an urban explorer who visited the shadowy site has claimed.
Andy Bracco told The Sun Online about his eerie trip to Little Saint James - Epstein’s private retreat that has become known as “paedo island”.
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Bracco, from Long Island, US, who goes by the online moniker , traveled to the island this month with his pal Jon Megna - visiting the site twice.
He told The Sun Online how they dodged security as they ventured through the southern portion of the $64million, 70-acre, Caribbean paradise in the US Virgin Islands.
The duo came across infamous landmarks such as the temple and the sundial which were all once used by Epstein and his powerful pals.
Locals warned him about teams of what are believed to be private security on the island who are armed while patrolling the roads on quad bikes and in buggies.
Despite the paedophile killing himself behind bars, Epstein’s island also appears to be well maintained aside from some storm damage.
Parts of the island still had electricity, the swimming pool was clean, the palm trees were well-tended, and the tennis court had been recently demolished.
He added “paranoia” set in amid tensions over the trip, saying he has been contacted by some “shadowy” people and had mysterious calls to his mobile phone.
The explorer told The Sun Online: “I sat down on one of the benches by the mausoleum - that temple type area.
“Just sitting there knowing who has sat there before and the figures who have been there, it was surreal and it was unreal.”
FBI agents last year raided Little Saint James as they built a case against the billionaire sex trafficker - and the island is believed to still be owned by Epstein’s estate.
It became known as “pedo island”, “orgy island” and the “island of sin” - but the creepy paedophile affectionately dubbed it “Little Saint Jeff”.
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Bracco said: “There is active security there - I visited the site twice over the week and one of the times was in daytime, which was a little bit riskier.
“The route we took we avoided a lot of the cameras on the island - along with the workers and guards.
“We got pretty lucky. But we planned it a few months ahead, spoke to locals and we knew what we were dealing with.
“I wouldn’t suggest anyone go there unless you really know what you are doing.”
He explained the main reason they wanted to explore the island was due to persistent rumours of tunnels hidden beneath its surface.
While the duo couldn’t nail down the subterranean stories, he said locals told them about “amazing” levels of construction with huge amounts of cement being shipped to the island.
Local rumours state this may have been to "fill in" the tunnels, he said.
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Bracco believes he and Jon are just the second people to be on the island since Epstein’s arrest and death aside from the contractors, guards and FBI agents.
One of the most infamous structures on the island is the bizarre blue and white temple which used to have a gold dome on top before it blew away.
The explorer described how the structure felt cheap and had bizarre features, such as painted on fake doors with the initials “JE” inscribed next to them.
He said: “It's very strange to know how much money this guy had to see such a low quality of a structure there.
“It makes you think, is this a distraction from something else?”
The only way to get into the structure is through a glass sliding door through which you can see the whole interior.
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Bracco suspects the island may be preparing for new ownership with the changes such as the tennis court, but the site is still believed to be owned by Epstein’s estate.
He said they constantly feared the sight of headlights heading towards them down the island’s access roads as they snuck around.
“There was one super serious part when we didn’t account for what I believe was an infrared camera by the communications tower,” he said.
“It was pointing directly at us, and if there was a sensor facing us and depending on what software they had it could have set off an alarm. So we had to rush off pretty quickly.”
Originally he intended to keep his identity a secret, but after posting the first previews on his Instagram account @zocbex - someone leaked his name online.
Deciding to get ahead, he said: “They were trying to use my name against me - in an attempt to disarm them I decided to release most things with my name attached.
“I have had some interesting and shadowy people contact me, a few calls to my personal cellphone. So paranoia set in.”
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Little Saint James is the centre of many of the allegations against Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as conspiracy theories.
The island is believed to be where much of his sexual abuse was committed and where he allegedly entertained powerful friends such as Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.
Victims have claimed to have witnessed sex taking place openly on the island, such as Maxwell having “girl on girl” orgies by the pool.
Epstein victim Virginia Roberts claims she had sex with Prince Andrew once on the island - as well at Maxwell’s house in London and Epstein’s mansion in New York.
Andrew strongly denies any allegations against him and said he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing while friends with Maxwell and Epstein.
Clinton has also denied he ever spent time on the island - blasting claims earlier this year as “lies” as they resurfaced in Netflix docuseries Filthy Rich.
His office has said the former President knew "nothing about the terrible crimes "committed by Epstein and there is no evidence to suggest he is linked to the underage sex investigation.
Pictures emerged yesterday of him getting a massage from one of Epstein’s accusers on the paedo’s plane.
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Maxwell has denied any involvement in Epstein’s sex ring and last month pleaded not guilty to four charges related to child sex trafficking and two counts of perjury.
Her lawyers have accused the victims of trying to turn her into a scapegoat since the death of Epstein.
Epstein killed himself in his cell at a New York prison in August last year while awaiting trial on charges - depriving many victims of justice.
Maxwell has been accused of taking part in the grooming and abuse of dozens of underage girls by Epstein.
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She is alleged to have acted as his alleged madam, pimp or fixer who would recruit victims for him, such as approaching Virginia while she was working at Donlad Trump’s resort Mar-a-Lago.
Victims allege they were duped with claims she was recruiting models of masseurs - only to them be abused by Epstein and Maxwell.
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The current charges against her relate to allegations by three alleged victims in particular.
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