Fact-check: Did Jeffrey Epstein really eat babies? Here's what the DOJ documents reveal about cannibalism

Ever since US President Donald Trump allowed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release files related to late sex offender and wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, the Americans have been fixated on them, scrutinizing the disturbing details that are now coming forward.

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On 30 January, the Justice Department released over three million files in connection with convicted sex offender Epstein. Following the release of the documents, several claims surfaced online, accusing Epstein of allegedly eating babies and engaging in cannibalism and in “ritualistic sacrifice.”

Bizarre allegations against Jeffrey Epstein

An old video from 2009 has surfaced in which a then 21-year-old model, Gabriela Rico Jiménez, is being detained in Guadalajara while shouting about elites eating people, rituals, and sacrifices at an elite party. The allegations were further fuelled by several other posts shared on different social media platforms.

One of the documents released alleged that babies were dismembered, their intestines removed, and added that some ate faeces from them. The document mentioned ‘George Bush 1’. It remains unclear if this refers to George HW Bush, who was also a former US president. However, these claims surfaced from unverified profiles.

Allegations against Jeffrey Epstein fact-checked

Verifying claims surfacing online, fact-checking website Snopes revealed that while the documents released by the DOJ contain references to cannibalism and ritualistic sacrifice, they could not probe the legitimacy of the accusations.

According to Snopes, the allegations stemmed from a purported interview between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials and an anonymous person in 2019. The anonymous man claimed to have witnessed "ritualistic sacrifice" and "babies being dismembered" on a yacht belonging to Epstein in 2000. However, according to DOJ records, the man did not provide any evidence to back his allegations.

Further, the anonymous man did not mention "cannibalism" in his interview, but the consumption of human faeces, the documents revealed. However, terms like "cannibal" or "cannibalism" have surfaced elsewhere in the files released by the department, but there is no evidence or charges of cannibalism connected to Epstein himself.

What did the anonymous man allege?

According to the documents released, the man accused several prominent people, including Epstein, of sexually assaulting him on a yacht in 2000. In the email to FBI officials, the man claimed he "was a victim of a type of ritualistic sacrifice in which his feet were cut with a scimitar, but left no scarring. On the yacht, he witnessed babies being dismembered, their intestines removed, and individuals eating the faeces from these intestines."

Mention of cannibalism

According to Snopes, in the trove of more than three million documents released in tranches by the DOJ, "cannibal" is referenced 52 times, whereas "cannibalism" is mentioned six times. However, none of these references were in line with the allegations levelled by the anonymous man.

Jeffrey Epstein case

The case against the late wealthy financier stems from a 2006 complaint made by the parents of a 14-year-old girl, who accused Epstein of molesting their minor daughter at his Florida home. According to a report in The New York Times, Epstein used to pay teenage girls money to perform sexual acts and also used his one-time girlfriend and associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, to recruit and manage his victims.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to two felony charges, including soliciting a minor, under a plea deal that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and strict prison time. In 2019, he was arrested again and accused of trafficking girls and engaging in sexual acts with them. He later died in his prison cell while awaiting trial.

The Justice Department faced pushback from Americans, including Republicans and supporters of Trump, prompting the release of documents in different tranches. Following the release of the documents, several high-profile names have come forward, including Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, and Michael Jackson, among others.