Disturbing meaning behind messages written on women in newly released Epstein photos
Quotes from a controversial novel were seen scrawled on the bare skin of a young woman in the latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein photos.
The House Oversight Committee released another 68 images related to the convicted sex offender on Thursday (18 December).
The latest dramatic drop of photographs came just a day before the US Justice Department's deadline to release all of the files related to Epstein.
The committee said these images were 'selected to provide the public with transparency into a representative sample of the photos', while providing 'insights into Epstein's network and his extremely disturbing activities'.
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There are more than 95,000 photographs which are currently being reviewed, with them described as 'both graphic and mundane'.
The 68 images released on Thursday included passports, maps, text message screenshots and photos of gatherings with well-known figures, such as Bill Gates.
It's important to note that being pictured in these images does not imply wrongdoing or criminal activity.
But the most chilling photographs are of handwritten messages which have been daubed across a woman's body, while the context behind them is even more disturbing.
The lines appear to be quotes from a 1955 novel titled Lolita, written by Vladimir Nabokov.
It tells the story of a middle-aged professor who grooms and takes advantage of a 12-year-old girl.
In the latest Epstein images, a number of extracts from the opening lines of the book are seen decorating the skin of a female.
In one, the words 'she was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock' are seen daubed across a foot.
Another, which appears to be near the woman's hip, states 'she was Lola in slacks'.
A third image shows the quote 'she was Polly at school' written across a woman's neck, while a fourth depicts the words 'she was Dolores on the dotted line' on her spine.
'Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth', is also seen written across the chest of a woman.
Epstein reportedly kept a first edition copy of Lolita in his New York home, while his private jet was also nicknamed after the novel.
His plane, a Boeing 727 jet, was dubbed the 'Lolita Express' in relation to the 1995 book, as Epstein ferried young girls on it to his private island.
Each identifiable piece of information related to the victims and survivors of Epstein have been redacted from the images to protect their privacy. It's not clear when these photos were taken, or who took them in the first place.
Epstein, a convicted paedophile and sex offender, died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, US News, Books
Olivia Burke