The 9 Year Old in the Epstein Files, and the Moral Line Our Leaders Keep Crossing

By Clayton S. Wood

The 9 Year Old in the Epstein Files, and the Moral Line Our Leaders Keep Crossing

The New York Post reported today that members of Congress viewed unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files and saw references not only to 15 year old girls, 14 year old girls, and 10 year-old girls, but to a 9 year old.

Nine.

Let that sit for a moment.

Not a teenager.

Not a “young woman.”

A child.

And now, lawmakers are saying they saw names that were redacted. Names that may be incriminating. Names they believe the public has a right to know.

Rep. Jamie Raskin said he saw the mention of a 9 year old. Rep. Thomas Massie said he saw the names of six men redacted in the released files and hinted he may name them on the House floor, where he would be protected.

If this is true, then it is not only a scandal.

It is a moral earthquake.

Because the most terrifying part of the Epstein story is not merely that one monster existed.

It is that a system existed around him.

A system of silence.

A system of protection.

A system where powerful people did not simply look away, but actively participated, enabled, funded, covered, and defended.

And if the people who did that are still protected, still unnamed, still unaccountable, then we do not have justice in America.

We have a caste system.

And the powerful are in the protected class.

Now let me be very clear.

I do not trust anyone who defended Roman Polanski.

I do not trust anyone who defends Epstein.

I do not trust anyone who minimizes sexual crimes against children.

I do not trust anyone who uses the language of “nuance” or “complexity” to blur the sharp line between innocence and predation.

There are certain acts that do not get to be “complicated.”

Sexual exploitation of children is one of them.

And the Bible is not vague about this.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, offered protection, dignity, and love to children.

He did not treat them as disposable.

He did not treat them as prey.

He did not treat them as objects for adult pleasure.

He said:

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

And He also said something else that many modern Christians forget, because it is too severe for our therapeutic age.

He said that whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Him to stumble would be better off with a millstone tied around his neck and thrown into the sea.

In other words: God does not treat crimes against children as small.

He treats them as blood guilt.

And I will say it plainly.

A society that will not punish predators is a society that has lost the fear of God.

And a society that protects predators in high places is a society under judgment.

If you want to know why so many Americans no longer trust institutions, this is why.

Not because of conspiracy theories.

Because of patterns.

Because again and again, the elite get protection.

The victims get forgotten.

And the public gets lied to.

Now, I am not claiming every name that appears in a file is guilty.

But I am saying this:

If there are men in positions of wealth, power, and influence who participated in child exploitation, then their names should be known.

They should be prosecuted.

They should be ruined.

And if our leaders refuse to pursue justice, then they should be removed from office.

Because no one who protects predators deserves authority.

And I will go one step further.

Biblically, sexual exploitation of children is worthy of the death penalty.

I am not saying that to be provocative.

I am saying it because the Bible treats the violation of the innocent as one of the clearest forms of evil.

We have become a culture that is tender toward criminals and cold toward victims.

That is not compassion.

That is rebellion against God.

If Congress truly has evidence of a 9 year old victim in these files, and if they truly have names that were redacted, then we are past the point of polite conversation.

This is not a partisan issue.

This is not left versus right.

This is good versus evil.

America has protected child rapists in Afghanistan.

We should also note the irony of people saying Epstein raping a 9 year old is wrong while holding up as a moral exemplar someone who raped a 9 year old child bride.

If you cannot condemn everyone who has sex with a 9 year old as a disgusting wicked and vile person, you should not be trusted by anyone with a moral compass.

And every leader who is serious should be saying the same thing:

Release the names of non victims.

Protect the victims.

Prosecute the guilty.

And stop protecting the powerful.