A pastor was suspended by the church for reportedly being aware of the crimes committed on Epstein Island by the late criminal, Jeffrey Epstein. The pastor placed on suspension was Rev. Stephanie Remington, as confirmed by a spokesperson via email.
News about Remington’s suspension was first announced through a press release by the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. A spokesperson for the UMC has confirmed her identity and suspension to People.
According to the press release, she has been placed on suspension until the episcopal office “reviews the matter.” The pastor reportedly knew about Epstein’s crimes between August 2018 and May 2019.
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In a conversation with The United Methodist News, Remington commented on her connection with the convicted felon. She claimed that she “never saw anything” on Epstein Island personally.
She also said, “I knew him for the last nine months of his life, well after he served time for the things that he was accused of doing.” Her alleged connection to Epstein was found by Dr. Elizabeth Glass Turner, a licensed local United Methodist pastor and researcher.
Dr. Turner shared her insights into the case and how she came to find Remington’s name in the Epstein files with Fox News affiliate WDAF. According to reports by the news outlet, the pastor’s name has appeared in 1,800 files.
Dr. Turner mentioned that she was doing her “due diligence” when checking the files and was shocked to discover Remington’s name in the files. She stumbled on it when noticing an email between Epstein and Steve Bannon involving a woman on the pulpit.
Upon further research, she was “stunned” to not only find that there was mention of a woman as pastor and was even more surprised to find Remington’s name in more than 1,800 documents of the Epstein files.
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After conducting more thorough research about Remington’s mention in the files, Dr. Turner decided to inform the UMC of her findings. Dr. Turner stated, “I requested they look into it with maximum promptness and transparency.”
The researcher claimed that she did not assume “any criminal wrongdoing” when she found Remington’s name in the files. However, the whole reason she reported it was because of the victims.
In another statement to WDAF, she said, “The girls and young women whose evidence and sworn testimonies I’ve encountered in the files deserve maximum transparency, especially from their faith leaders.”
Details about how Remington knew about Epstein and her exact connection to him, followed by how she may have been connected to Epstein island, remain undisclosed. Until the matter is investigated by church officials, they have declined to comment on Remington’s suspension.
Moreover, since it is an “active matter,” the Missouri Conference has declined to comment further on it until things are thoroughly investigated. Currently, there is no evidence linking the pastor to any criminal activity, but she remains suspended from her duties until further notice.
