New Mexico lawmakers have launched an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch over allegations of sexual abuse taking place at the rural property, and concerns that alleged crimes were never fully investigated by federal and state law enforcement.
The state’s House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation on Monday that creates a bipartisan “truth commission,” which will review allegations of abuse having taken place at the Santa Fe-area property while it was owned by the late sex offender.
The goal of the investigation, said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) in a video address Monday, is “to understand why the crimes that were reported to federal and state authorities were never fully investigated and to ensure that we have safeguards in place to not only hold those individuals accountable, who were complicit, but to ensure that this never happens again in our state.”
The committee is required to submit an interim report on its findings by the end of July and a final report by the end of the year. This final report will detail “the investigative procedures carried out by the committee, the findings and conclusions the committee made through carrying out those procedures and the committee’s recommendations,” according to a copy of the resolution.
