Nearly 3 million newly released documents from court files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein include a previously unpublished photograph of the late British physicist Stephen Hawking, but contain no allegation of wrongdoing against him.
The image shows Hawking lying on what appears to be a beach chair or sun lounger, smiling, flanked by two young women wearing black bikinis. Hawking, who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, appears unable to hold a cocktail glass on his own, with one of the women assisting him.
It was not immediately clear when or where the photograph was taken, though it may have been taken on Little St. James, Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Hawking was among 21 prominent scientists who attended a conference organized by Epstein on the island in 2006. He died in March 2018 at age 76. According to previously reported records, Hawking visited the island in March 2006, years before Epstein was first charged in 2008 with soliciting prostitution from a minor.
A search of the document trove released by the U.S. Justice Department shows Hawking is mentioned at least 250 times, but there is no suggestion in the files of criminal conduct by him.
The newly disclosed materials also include emails and other records, among them photographs of Britain’s Prince Andrew with a minor and references to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in correspondence written by Epstein.
Separately, FBI officials received unverified information alleging that Epstein visited a gay club with Hawking in 2011. The source described the venue as a bathhouse and told authorities he had seen “important men” there that year, adding that he did not know who they were at the time. “Epstein and Hawking were there with some Russian men. I recognized them from the news,” the person was quoted as saying. The account could not be independently confirmed.