Swedish UN official Joanna Rubinstein visited Jeffrey Epstein's private island in the Caribbean in 2012 with her family. An email from her thanks Epstein for a 'wonderful lunch' and an afternoon in 'paradise'. Rubinstein stresses it was the first and only time she met the convicted sex offender.
On December 26, 2012, Joanna Rubinstein, then head of the US branch of World Childhood Foundation, emailed Jeffrey Epstein. In it, she thanks him for the hospitality during a visit to his private island, Little St. James, in the Caribbean. 'Thank you so much for a wonderful lunch and an afternoon in paradise. It was an extra joy for me to finally meet you in person', the email states. She also mentions that her children enjoyed the visit and 'loved your inspiring stories and of course your island'.
Rubinstein, who is now chair of Sweden for UNHCR, was introduced to Epstein through her husband in a professional context. The family was on vacation nearby and was invited to a social gathering. 'It was the first and only time I met him', she writes in a comment to Expressen. She was aware of Epstein's 2008 conviction for sex crimes against a minor at the time of the visit but condemns the later revealed abuses. 'What has since emerged about the extent of the abuses is horrific and something I strongly distance myself from'.
The email is part of the new Epstein files released on February 2, 2024, the largest release to date with about 3.5 million documents. The files mention world leaders like Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Swedish Princess Sofia. Epstein was sentenced in 2008 to 18 months in prison for solicitation of prostitution and charged in 2019 with abuses against dozens of underage girls. He was found dead in his cell in August 2019.
Epstein's island later became known as a central site for his sexual abuses against minors. Rubinstein's visit occurred before many of these details became public.
