Goldsmith warned of Epstein's alleged misconduct in 1987, years before federal investigation

British financier Sir James Goldsmith is said to have warned a close associate in 1987 that Jeffrey Epstein was a "sexual deviant" who was recruiting children. The comment was recalled by architect Robert Couturier, who worked for Goldsmith and said Goldsmith told him to avoid Epstein because he was a pervert and that Goldsmith wanted to protect his four daughters.

Goldsmith, who died in 1997, was expanding his U.S. operations at the time, opening an office in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The island later became the focus of allegations by a woman identified as Jane Doe 4, who claimed Epstein assaulted her there in the mid-1980s and trafficked her to other men, including President Donald Trump. The White House has denied the Trump allegation as baseless.

The Guardian’s investigation found no public record confirming Epstein’s presence on Hilton Head, and Goldsmith’s heirs say they never met Epstein. Mark Epstein, the financier’s brother, said he had no knowledge of his brother being on the island.

Federal prosecutors continue to examine Epstein’s estate and related financial overseers, while the Department of Justice has released millions of documents from the Epstein Disclosure Act, though few pertain to the 1980s. Legal experts note that early warnings such as Goldsmith’s could have been significant, but there is no evidence that Goldsmith reported his concerns to law enforcement.

"It was all preventable," Couturier told the Guardian.

The case remains part of a broader inquiry into how Epstein accessed powerful networks and whether earlier interventions could have halted his alleged abuse.