Locals called it "Paedophile Island". Jeffrey Epstein referred to it as "Little St Jeff's".
To the world, Little St James is commonly referred to as "Epstein Island" and according to attorneys for his accusers, the island was the site of many crimes committed against underage girls.
More than 150 photos and videos from Epstein's luxurious island escape were published online by US politicians on November 3, local time.
Here's what we know about Epstein's "favourite place".
Epstein liked the isolation
The convicted sex offender used both his private islands — Little St James and Great St James — as a personal and business hideaway.
In 2012, during a business pitch, Epstein said the US Virgin Islands were "perfect" because they were "so isolated".
In the same pitch he said, "I am not a madman".
Days after Epstein's death on August 10, 2019, FBI agents and New York Police Department investigators raided Little St James.
That search yielded a "significant amount of material, including more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence", a memo from the FBI said.
Where are Epstein's islands?
The islands sit side-by-side in the Caribbean and are only accessible by private helicopter or boat.
[map islands]From the US, Epstein's private plane would fly him to St Thomas's international airport, where he would board a helicopter that would take him to his two islands.
Little St James is about 28 hectares in size, while Great St James is 67 hectares.
In April 1998, a company called LSJ purchased Little St James for $US7.95 million ($12.3 million) and documents later revealed that Epstein was the lone member of the company.
Great St James was bought in 2016 for $US22.5 million by Epstein.
Both were frequented by the sex offender, and locals have accused him of transporting underage girls to them both, but it is Little St James where the bulk of the allegations stem from.
What allegedly happened on the island?
Virginia Giuffre claimed that former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor raped her on Little St James.
Epstein's longtime associate and girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell told a deposition with the US government that she was on the island when Andrew visited, but "there were no girls on the island" at that time.
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity in 2021.
Maxwell's lawyers informed a New York court this week she planned to make a fresh bid for freedom.
According to locals, Epstein made very little effort to hide the young girls travelling with him to the island.
In 2019, after his death, two employees from the airstrip on neighbouring island St Thomas told Vanity Fair they witnessed Epstein boarding planes with young girls.
"On multiple occasions I saw Epstein exit his helicopter, stand on the tarmac in full view of my tower, and board his private jet with children — female children," the anonymous employee said.
The US Virgin Islands launched a civil lawsuit against Epstein's estate after he passed, claiming the sex offender raped and trafficked dozens of young women and girls to his island.
The lawsuit said that Epstein used the island as "the perfect hideaway" to traffic young girls "for sexual servitude, child abuse and sexual assault".
The complaint also alleged Epstein kept a computerised database to track girls who could be sent to Little St James.
A look inside the buildings
On November 3 local time in the US, politicians released new pictures and video of Epstein's private island estate.
The images released by Democratic Party members of the House Oversight Committee show what it looked like inside the buildings on the island.
The Democrats described the images as "never-before-seen photos and videos of Epstein's private island that are a harrowing look behind Epstein's closed doors".
What appeared to be a dental chair was photographed in a room decorated with masks. (House Oversight Committee)
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One of the bedrooms on Little St James island. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
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Another bedroom on the island. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
One photo shows a bathroom containing furniture. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
An image shows what appears to be a sit-down washroom. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
One room included a blackboard with names on it, but some were redacted in the released image. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
The blackboard had the words "power" and "deception" written on it. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
A storage room on the island was left full. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
Masks were affixed to a wall in at least one room on Epstein's property. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
This isn't the first time the world has seen inside Epstein-owned properties.
In August 2025, The New York Times released photos taken inside his seven-storey townhouse in Manhattan.
Millions spent on Little St James
A blue-striped temple, a solar clock and an ever-moving Holstein-Friesian cow statue are three strange items found on Little St James.
The island also has multiple swimming pools, tennis courts, a helipad and several guest villas.
Epstein built a villa with a library, a Japanese bathhouse and a movie theatre on the island as well.
He spent millions developing the island during his ownership, The New York Times reported, citing government documents.
One memo from a government agency's wildlife chief in 2010 said Epstein's property developments on the island had "a long history of egregious and blatant disregard for environmental regulations".
The temple-looking building sat on top of a hill on Little St James Island. (Reuters: Marco Bello)
A life-size Holstein-Friesian cow statue that locals say was moved to a different spot weekly and sometimes even daily. (Reuters: Marco Bello)
A solar clock, or sundial, was built in the middle of the island, at the top of a hill. (Reuters: Marco Bello)
An American flag flies next to one of the swimming pools on the island. (Reuters: Marco Bello)
Another one of the many pools on the island. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
The letter "E" was seen in tiling on the ground. (Supplied: House Oversight Committee)
Part of Jeffery Epstein's estate on Little St James Island. (AP: Gianfranco Gaglione)
The main building is a mansion on the northern-most point of the island. It is believed this is where Epstein stayed when he visited.
The temple has become the most high-profile landmark on Little St James, but it is unclear what it was used for.
Planning documents issued from Epstein in 2010 state the building was a pavilion designed for music, and would house a grand piano.
What happened to Epstein's islands?
In March 2022, the two islands owned by Epstein were listed for sale through New York-based Bespoke Real Estate for $US125 million.
Soon after the listing, a lawyer for Epstein's estate confirmed the money from the sale would be used to settle several lawsuits.
In May 2023, Stephen Deckoff, founder of private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, purchased both islands for just $US60 million.
After purchasing, he said he had never met Epstein and had never set foot on the islands until they were marketed for sale.
He told Forbes he had plans to develop a 25-room luxury resort on the property.
"I've been proud to call the US Virgin Islands home for more than a decade and am tremendously pleased to be able to bring the area a world-class destination benefiting its natural grace and beauty," he said.
"I very much look forward to working with the US Virgin Islands to make this dream a reality."
