08:44 .111 CC' "Without having legitimate connections to so many high-powered people, Jeffrey Epstein would not have been able to traffic most ot these women after 2008," said lawyer Brad Edwards. V ong with his law-firm partner, Brittany Hen- derson, he represents the Polish model and more than 150 of Epstein's accusers. "These are smart women who would not have believed him other- 1Ni SP." Under tederai law, sex trafficking ot adults involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to compel sex acts in exchange for money or favors. The law doesn't require movement across a bor- der, and the coercion can be psychological. When the victims are minors, the law doesn't require proof of fraud or coercion. Edwards's clients have sued Epstein's estate and financial institutions that provided banking ser- vices to him. Edwards said that most of the women were sexually abused and exploited by Epstein himself, but that he also groomed some for certain of his friends. He said a total of more than 20 men have been named as participants in sexual exploitation or abuse by women who were trafficked by Epstein. He declined to name the men, citing client confidentiality. Epstein often instructed women to report back their encounters with other men, Edwards said. "He would make the women describe the details of the abuse, alailiftlada , it would get EFTA00144272