Just months before his 2019 arrest for child sex crimes, Jeffrey E. Epstein (left) was being helped by US Virgin Islands (USVI) Governor Albert A. Bryan Jr (right) with a conflict regarding unauthorised construction on his 'pedophile island' Little St James. Photo: CNN

The exchanges also show that USVI Governor Albert A. Bryan Jr and Jeffrey E. Epstein planned to meet privately as the dispute unfolded. Photo: CNN

The islands of Great St James, bottom, and Little St James, center, are seen in an aerial view near Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, in July 2019. Photo: Marco Bello/Reuters

After Epstein was ordered to stop unauthorised construction on Little St James and Great St James in the USVI, the serial sex offender went to Bryan for help, CNN reported on February 25, 2026.

According to CNN, it reviewed text messages from 2019, and it showed that Bryan, a Democrat, told Epstein that he had spoken with the territory’s top environmental official and asked him to pause enforcement until they could discuss the matter.

‘We got u’

As Epstein complained about possible mounting fines and negative press coverage, Governor Bryan later wrote that he had askedthecommissioner overseeing the case to “recuse himself and concede on all previous permit requests.”

“We got u,” Bryan added in a later message.

In another exchange, after Epstein asked Bryan whether he could “spare 15 minutes,” the governor quickly responded, “For u absolutely.”

The text messages took place just a few months before Epstein was arrested on charges of sex trafficking minors. Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell just one month after the arrest.

Lying under oath?

Questioned under oath in 2023 about whether he ever provided special treatment to Epstein as governor, Bryan repeatedly answered no.

According to CNN, amid the millions of pages of documents released in investigations and civil litigation tied to Epstein, his exchanges with Governor Bryan offer a rare window into how the mysterious financier operated in the US Virgin Islands — leveraging his wealth, business footprint and promises of investment as he sought to influence local officials overseeing matters that affected his interests.

Correspondence from September 2018 shows Epstein’s personal assistant, employees at Epstein’s Southern Trust Company and his longtime Virgin Islands tax attorney coordinating a meeting with Epstein, Bryan and his campaign manager John Engerman during Bryan’s campaign for governor while Epstein was in the Virgin Islands.

Epstein had direct access to USVI’s highest elected official

Separate messages from February 2019 also show Epstein discussing Bryan with Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress Stacey E. Plaskett. In one exchange, Epstein asked, “Have you talked to Albert face to face yet?” Plaskett replied, “Went well. We’ve ‘talked’ a few times. He talked generally I tried to ask for specifics.”

The text messages between Bryan and Epstein span January through May 2019, when Epstein — who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution, including from a minor — was facing renewed scrutiny following investigations by The Miami Herald into the plea agreement that had allowed him to avoid more serious federal charges.

Even as scrutiny intensified, the texts and emails show Epstein, a decades-long landowner in the territory and investor in major property with business ties to the island, retaining direct access to the territory’s highest elected official.

According to victim testimony, Epstein routinely trafficked underage girls to wealthy and powerful guests on his island Little St James, earning it the moniker “Pedophile Island” in the media.