Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates claimed Jeffrey Epstein “could have been stopped” in an interview published after lawmakers questioned her ex-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, over his ties to the dead sex offender.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian, French Gates hit out at the U.S. justice system, claiming it “didn’t do its job” when it came to Epstein, who died in jail seven years ago after prosecutors said he sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls.
“The justice system didn’t do its job. It did not do its job. Full stop. This could have been stopped,” French Gates told the newspaper, referring to Epstein and his crimes.
“I think that’s why, finally, we are having a reckoning in society. If we don’t want children to be harmed, the justice system has to work,” she added.
The interview, published Saturday, comes just days after Gates testified about Epstein during a closed-door House Oversight Committee hearing. He told lawmakers Epstein attempted to blackmail him with explicit details about his personal life, including his extramarital affairs.
The tech mogul said Epstein “sought to build an image of legitimacy around himself, using connections to reputable and powerful people to deflect scrutiny and attempt to rehabilitate his reputation,” according to a copy of his opening remarks.
Gates also emphasized that he “never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct.”
French Gates said she met Epstein one time, and the experience gave her nightmares, according to The Guardian.
“Have you ever in your life been around somebody that you just know is evil? … We need to listen to our feelings about people,” she told the newspaper.
“He was an abhorrent human being, a horrid man, and so in these situations – this is a hard topic for me, you need to know that – my heart goes out to the young girls.”
Now, French Gates is advocating for more women to take on positions of power, and has recently committed $215 million toward funding women’s healthcare initiatives, according to The Guardian.
“When women step into their full power, we have a different lens on society. We are the bedrock of society. We are the bedrock of the family,” she said.
French Gates split from her now-ex husband in 2021, following 27 years of marriage. Three years later, she stepped down from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, citing a desire to “move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy.”
