In re Wild, 994 F.3d 1244 (11th Cir. 2021)

Courtney Wild (petitioner) was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse as a minor. She attempted to sue the United States government for violating the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (“CVRA”) by failing to inform her of Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement (“NPA”). In 2008, when the petitioner first learned of the NPA, she filed an Emergency Victim’s Petition for Enforcement of CVRA in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. However, the Court denied her claim because no criminal case was pending against Epstein at the time. She then filed a second petition, which the clerk filed as a civil case. The Court dismissed the lawsuit after Epstein’s death in 2019. 

The key issue in this case was whether the CVRA permits a person to file a freestanding civil action to seek judicial enforcement of CVRA rights when no underlying proceeding exists. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the CVRA did not authorize the petitioner to file this lawsuit and denied review of the District Court’s dismissal. According to the Court of Appeals, the CVRA applies only to pretrial criminal proceedings, reflecting the legislative intent of Congress found in the statutory language, which indicates that CVRA remedies apply only to preexisting proceedings. Furthermore, enforcement of the CVRA cannot interfere with prosecutorial discretion to investigate or pursue charges. In this case, the NPA eliminated federal criminal charges against Epstein; this meant that she was not legally a victim of a federal crime, as there was no federal prosecution. Therefore, the petitioner was not entitled to any relief under the CVRA, and her claim was dismissed. In 2026, Wild and other victims testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, demanding transparency with the NPA for the victims of Epstein. 

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  • 2021

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