While discussions in Congress turn to Jeffrey Epstein, let’s take a look back at who he was.

Before he became the central figure in a high-profile sex trafficking case, Epstein was a powerful financier in New York City.

Courting the rich and famous with private jets and lavish parties in the 1980s, Epstein’s business grew to manage hundreds of millions of dollars in clients’ assets.

Among the celebrities he socialised with were US President Donald Trump, former president Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.

“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York magazine in 2002.

In 2005, the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in Florida that Epstein had molested their daughter at his Palm Beach home.

He avoided federal charges and instead received an 18-month prison sentence.

Since 2008, Epstein had been listed as a level three on the New York sex offenders’ register. It was a lifelong designation meaning he was at a high risk of reoffending.

In July 2019, he was arrested in New York on sex trafficking charges, accused of running “a vast network” of underage girls for sex.

After being denied bail, he was held in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was found dead in his cell months later.