Before Epstein Bail Hearing Two Pedophilia Defendants Freed on Bail in SDNY To Iowa and New Jersey

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon

SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 8 – That Jeffrey Epstein, now in the Metropolitan Correctional Center by Foley Square, will be denied bail later this week is widely reported. But as Inner City Press has reported from the Magistrates Court of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York this year, at least two accused pedofiles have been released on bond, with conditions. 

One, Donnie Fetters, was bailed by Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang on May 10 and allowed to fly back to Iowa from whence he came to Laguardia to meet an underage girl, or what he thought was an underage girl. See the Inner City Press, the only media that day in the Magistrate Court, story here. Fetters remains free; most recently his appearance before SDNY Judge Victor Marrero was waived. This case is now US v. Fetters, 19-cr-387 (VM).

On May 30 SDNY Magistrate Judge James L. Cott granted bond to Bryan Pivnick, accused of grooming an 11 year old boy, see Inner City Press story here: now Pivnick is asking for greater access to the Internet in New Jersey, ostensibly to pay his student loans. This case is now US v. Pivnick, 19-cr-00464 (PKC). More on Patreon, here.

Certainly, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking charges are different. But these two recent bailings, and the SDNY's continuing usually ignored proceedings, merit reporting, which Inner City Press will continue to do, perched as for months over the PACER terminal in the 500 Pearl Street press room, if it is available, as it continues its "Murky Mag Court" series.  

Back on March 6 when the question of releasing or at least reviewing sealed Jeffrey Epstein documents was taken up by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Inner City Press story here, Alan Dershowitz was there. Afterward by the elevators in 40 Foley Square Inner City Press asked Dershowitz, what he'd thought of Judge Sweet's decision. He began to say, Judge Sweet made a mistake - when first his lawyer gestured that they should go, and then the clerk of court asked everyone to leave the floor. 

 Now it's reported not only that on July 8 Epstein will be presented and indicted on sex trafficking charges but also that a search warrant was executed on Epstein's Manhattan mansion at 8 East 71st Street on July 6. Epstein is in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, photo here, along with among others convicted UN briber, Antonio Guterres linked, Patrick Ho of CEFC.

  Cursory research revealed not only Epstein as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, but bragging about his financial support to CFR, through the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation. Photo here. What will CFR say? Will they belatedly be returning the money?

While some call it a pink hued building on a dead end street, his mansion is at 9 East 71st Street - one block, it turns out, from the Qatar royal family mansion which has hosted human trafficking covered up in the SDNY, see Inner City Press here, and below.

The July 8 presentment will presumably be in Courtroom 5A of 500 Pearl Street, or perhaps a larger room to accommodate the interest. In Courtroom 5A as the July 1-3 work week ended Inner City Press alone in the gallery observed Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses signed sealed indictments and warrants, even with what some called sleight of hand of saying there would be no action until 8 pm then, when Inner City Press ran to the PACER terminal in the press room, ending the day's business at 7:45 pm with no press present. Expect on July 7 another Geoffrey Berman press conference as well -- Inner City Press will be there.

  The rights or lack of rights of victims have been highlighted for some in this case - but the violation of rights of less prominent people has been happening every day, from before March until now in the SDNY including its murky Magistrates Court. Inner City Press was in the 2d Circuit in March and will be in the SDNY July 8, based from a PACER terminal, documenting the disparities. Watch this site.

Back in March all of the parties - the Miami Herald's Julie Brown, Mike Cernovich, Alan Dershowitz and even Virginia Giuffre -- were pushing for the unsealing of the documents, except Ghislaine Maxwell.  Her lawyer Ty Gee argued that people had relied on the commitment to seal the information. He ended by saying the U.S. judicial system is not about democracy. 

But by then the panel of Judges of Cabranes, Pooler and Droney had made it pretty clear they will be remanding the case and the 167 documents back to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The only question seems to be whether Judge Sweet, who initially agreed to seal them, will get the case on remand or if another judge will. 

. He challenged Giuffre to sue him, and of Judge Cassel was highly critical, a term of art. 

Another term of art: slut-shamer, a term applied during the argument to Mike Cernovich but one that the judges mocked, with Judge Pooler asking if there was a "slut-shaming cabal." The wider point was that there is in the United States no system for certifying journalists, that as the Ninth Circuit case Opsidium v Cox has it, journalist is something you do, not something you are. 

All citizens - and non citizens, as in the case of Argentines seeking information about their country's debt revealed in a U.S. case - have a right to information, a right that predated the Constitution.  The judges reserved judgement. Inner City Press will continue to cover this and other SDNY and 2nd Circuit cases - watch this site.

The Qatar ruling family's abuse of employees and laws was exposed in an off the record initial conference at in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on February 14; Inner City Press was the only media present. 

Inner City Press wrote an exclusive story that day, February 14, then more in the following few days as more sources contacted us. Now it has learned that the UK's Daily Mail days later on February 21 false claimed an exclusive on the story, here. 

On June 1 Inner City Press reported that the Qatari royals' lawyers were on the cusp of succeeding in burying the case in mediation by JAMS. A low-ball settlement - except for attorneys fees -- was submitted to SDNY Judge J. Paul Oetken on June 1. The total is $150,000, fully half being attorneys' fees; it is signed by the royals without any admission.

 And now on June 10, this: "ORDER: The proposed settlement at Docket Number 36-1 is approved, and the case is hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. The Court shall retain jurisdiction solely to resolve any disputes arising from the settlement agreement and the settlement of this action. The Clerk of Court is directed to close the case. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge J. Paul Oetken on 6/10/2019) (jca)."  So the issue of human trafficking has been buried, for money, in the SDNY.

Tellingly, the cover letter stated that "Defendants – who are members of the royal family of Qatar – noted that if they received certification from the State Department, they would potentially be considered diplomats entitled to full immunity, resulting in immediate dismissal of the litigation for lack of subject matter jurisdiction." So the Qatar royalsused the threat of support from the U.S. State Department to cover up human trafficking. We'll have more on this - and there is more on Patreon, here.

Exclusive: Dramatist Who Bragged Of Grooming 11 Year Old Boy Is To Be Freed From SDNY To NJ Home With No Cell Phone

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive, Patreon

SDNY COURTHOUSE, May 30 – A thirty year old man accused by the government of distributing pornographic images of infants and bragging that he was grooming an 11 year old boy is being freed on bond to his mother's house in New Jersey, it was decided late on May 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York's Magistrates Court with Inner City Press the only media present. See also Patreon.

  Bryan Pivnick was brought in foot shackles before SDNY Magistrate Judge James L. Cott after 6 pm. Assistant US Attorney Thomas Wright, who later confirmed the spelling of Pivnick's name to Inner City Press, argued for detention. 

  He described Telegram messages on February 10, 2019 in which Pivnick said he was "getting close to the 11 y/o bro" of his boyfriend. Thesame 11 year old was found in Pivnick's apartment when he was arrested.

  Pivnick's Federal Defenders lawyer Philip Weinstein protested that the 11 year old is the son of Pivnick's boyfriend and that the photos were not naked - they were at a museum. "The SPY museum," Pivnick audibly said.

  Pivnick's mother and step-father were in the gallery. When Pivnick was brought in his mother cried and left courtroom. Later she spoke up to tell Judge Cott that her home in New Jersey has "Raid security" which can film whomever approaches it.

   Judge Cott said he would take a recess to decide. But before that happened, none other than the mother of the 11 year told, a Ms. Chapman, spoke up from the gallery. She said that while she will never again allow her son to see Pivnick, they had shared a dog together, that she had paid for. 

  She objected to AUSA Wright saying Pivnick doesn't have steady work, noting that he works 11 hours a day on a musical, albeit not for money.

  While Cott and his Deputy Mr. Tan never read out the index number of the case, online research by Inner City Press finds a Bryan Pivnick who is described in Marymount Manhattan Magazine in 2010-11: "Early this spring semester, Bryan Pivnick ’11 brought the beginnings of a song to class. He wasn’t sure where he was going with it, but wanted to get some feedback to help guide him. Students reacted with confusion to his phrasing and were unsatisfied with his rhyme schemes. In a previous class, Pivnick, a theatre arts major, had received favorable responses from the class when he shared a song from a separate project, a developing musical in which he had provided the class with clear characters and context for the direction those songs were taking." 

  Bryan Pivnick in Harrison, New Jersey (another address is in Freehold, NJ) alsoregistered with GoDaddy a website named TheDramatistsLab.org.  It is not live. An address on the Upper West Side is also listed but no longer seems relevant for this format. (But see Patreon, here.)

   Cott emerged and said that, unlike a homeless man less than an hour later whom he remanded to the MCC for online threats to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, of whom Pre Trial Services noted "ties to Nigeria," Pivnick could be freed. His mother will put up her home and agree to have her computer and other electronics password protected. Pivnick is not to see the boyfriend, who is now a witness. In the back of the Mag Court, Ms. Chapman was discussing what was on Pivnick's phone. Then the homeless man was remanded, his bond application denied.