Dear Editor,
In the recent article Canaan Valley Named in Latest Epstein Drop there is no inherent news value offered. Your reporter states a regional airport worker saw an entourage of young girls (16 years of age) connected to refueling a private plane associated with Jefferey Epstein, were “giggly and seemed to be having the time of their lives”. Jefferey Epstein was a convicted pedophile and child trafficker. This article appears to be about a lack of understanding the breadth and depth of Mr. Epstein’s transgressions on a specific vulnerable population. The airport worker’s inability to understand why Mr. Epstein is “all over the news” has no place in this “news” article What is newsworthy is that this article does not include the fact that Mr. Epstein was CONVICTED. There are volumes written and testimony received by the courts from the victims about their experiences of sexual exploitation and child trafficking due to their lowly economic status and promises of a better life proffered by wealthy men without any accountability. The Advocate should advocate for data driven complete reporting assisting in educating readers about how income inequality, child trafficking, sexual exploitation of the vulnerable are interconnected and perpetuated.
Robin McClintock
Hendricks
