ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON – Longtime announced his retirement on Friday, about two and a half months after it was revealed he had a previous relationship with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Botstein, who has led the prestigious liberal arts school for 50 years, will step down in June. It is expected that Botstein will remain on Bard’s faculty as a teacher and musician. Botstein was not accused of participating in Epstein’s abuse of girls and women.
However, he was one of many prominent figures who maintained a friendly relationship with Epstein for years, even after Epstein had been convicted as a sex offender. The two met on several occasions as Botstein sought donations for the college from the millionaire sex offender.
There have been no allegations of wrongdoing on Botstein’s part; however, emails point to meetings and a $75,000 to Bard College in 2011. Epstein died in August 2019 from suicide in a Manhattan federal jail, several weeks after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges.
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