Jeffrey Epstein Accountability Is Not a “Satanic Panic” — Here’s Why

The Epstein Chronicles · Jun 24, 2026 · 19m

Framing the current push for accountability in the Jeffrey Epstein case as a modern “satanic panic” mischaracterizes both the evidence and the nature of the underlying crimes. The satanic panic of the 1980s was marked by unfounded ritual-abuse allegations, moral hysteria, and prosecutions built on unreliable testimony. By contrast, the Epstein case involved documented victim statements, financial records, flight logs, plea agreements, federal indictments, and a criminal conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking minors. Jeffrey Epstein himself pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a…