By Marc Freeman

Sun Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Jeffrey Epstein’s death last month means a lawsuit by his sexual abuse victims is over — along with their hopes to hold Epstein and his co-conspirators in South Florida accountable, a federal judge ruled Monday.

By stopping the 11-year-old civil litigation, the court said it will not order any remedies for the government’s violation of a crime victims’ rights law.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra had been considering ways to grant some relief for the women involved in the case. In February, he ruled that federal prosecutors failed to properly consult Epstein’s victims when they approved his 2007 deal to avoid prosecution on federal charges.

But everything changed on Aug. 10 when the 66-year-old wealthy financier killed himself while awaiting a New York trial on sex trafficking charges, Marra wrote.

The judge said the “lengthy and contentious litigation” had become moot because Epstein is dead.

Marra conceded that the victims “in the end they are not receiving much, if any, of the relief they sought.”

“They may take solace, however, in the fact that this litigation has brought national attention to the Crime Victims’ Rights Act and the importance of victims in the criminal justice system,” Marra wrote. “It has also resulted in the United States Department of Justice acknowledging its shortcomings in dealing with crime victims, and its promise to better train its prosecutors regarding the rights of victims under the CVRA in the future.”

Brad Edwards and Paul Cassell, attorneys for the victims, said this is a still a time for Epstein’s victims to be proud.

“Together, we have forever demonstrated that nobody is above the law, not the wealthy and not even the Government,” they wrote in a statement. “As Judge Marra alluded to in his Order, this case undoubtedly elevated public awareness of Mr. Epstein’s crimes and played a vital role in his eventual arrest in New York.”

Marra said the law does not allow for the lawsuit to continue as the victims’ had wanted after Epstein’s death, by taking aim at Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators, or women who helped his sexual abuse activities from 1999 to 2007.

The lawyers for the victims said they are considering an appeal of Marra’s order, along with other ways to continue their battle.

“Of course, this is not the ending we had hoped for, but the enormous progression of victims’ rights through this case will ensure that violations like this never happen again in this country,” Edwards and Cassell wrote. “For that, the fight was worth it.”

In his previous ruling, the court found that Epstein’s “non-prosecution agreement” violated the law because the victims were “deliberately” not told about Epstein’s deal. That controversial deal resulted in Epstein pleading guilty in 2008 to two state prostitution charges.

It meant Epstein likely avoided a lengthy prison sentence for abusing dozens of underage girls at his Palm Beach mansion, usually involving massages that became forced sex acts, court records show.

Publicity over Epstein’s deal led to the July 12 resignation of U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. attorney who oversaw the money manager’s immunity from federal crimes.

Epstein wound up serving 13 months of his state punishment in a special wing of the Palm Beach County Jail. He also was permitted to leave the facility during the day and spend up to 12 hours a day, six days a week in his West Palm Beach office.

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, responding to allegations that Epstein had sexual relations during his work release, started a criminal investigation.

But he later agreed that in order to maintain the public’s trust, it was for the best for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct a criminal investigation into all aspects of Epstein’s treatment from 12 years ago. The review, ordered by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, continues.