Former Scientist Roger Schank’s frequent contact with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein illuminates his knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, as they discussed girls, favors and dining together over email.
By Juliana Krigsman
In an email from Roger Schank to Jeffrey Epstein, Schank writes “U of Colorado Boulder. Very pretty campus; girls go there to ski.” (Juliana Krigsman/Radio1190 via the Department of Justice Website)
Documents released by the Justice Department (DOJ) show that Roger Schank, a former scientist and professor at Northwestern University, was frequently in contact with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a document released in the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Schank wrote to Epstein “U of Colorado in Boulder very pretty campus; girls go there to ski.”
Schank, who passed away in 2023, was known to be a celebrated scientist who focused on artificial intelligence. In 1989 he began teaching at Northwestern University where he became professor emeritus of computer science until his passing. Schank founded the Cognitive Science Society in 1979, which still exists today.
“He was an enormously influential figure – it’s not an exaggeration to say that the arc of my entire professional career was set under his influence,” Jon Revelos, who earned his master’s in computer science at the ILS in 1994 and is now principal owner of Knowledge Narratives, told Northwestern University. In an email exchange between Schank and Epstein, Schank writes that his wife Annie Schank is willing to testify. It is unclear what she was willing to testify for. Mrs. Schank passed away in 2023 as well.
In another file released by the DOJ, Epstein wrote to Shank in June of 2009, “find out who they were please.”
Schank responded, “apparently you were discussed. A woman said she overheard two fifteen year olds discussing going to your house, and they say they were going because their dads had agreed that they could then sue you.”
The documents reveal that Schank was in frequent contact with Epstein, where they discussed girls, personal matters, favors for Schank’s friends, as well as plans to meet for various dinners and lunches. In October of 2009 Epstein wrote to Schank “can you go the .vi. on the 9th?” The US Virgin Islands, which are located in the Caribbean, is where Epstein trafficked and abused underage girls for decades, some as young as eleven years old. It is speculated that .vi. stands for Virgin Islands. According to a 2023 obituary in The New York Times, Schank attended a conference for scientists at Epstein’s private island in St. Thomas in 2002.
In May of 2011 Epstein emailed Schank, “I have a girl for you. What would you like me to do?”
In response, Schank wrote “where is said girl?” A month later in June of 2011 Epstein wrote to Schank, “don’t get too excited.” Schank responded “dinner with girl. Tell me more about her.”
In December of that year Schank wrote flippantly to Epstein, titling the subject of his email “I want one of your girls.”
“Thought that would get you attention,” the email begins. “You always have a few that you hire for your own reasons: I want one as a loaner.” The email ends with him asking if Epstein has “any extras.”
The two can also be seen writing about a woman in derogatory terms when Schank wrote to Epstein “very smart (for a girl,) not attractive. Can you meet with her briefly in NYC?”
After Epstein was convicted of procuring an underage girl for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute in 2008, Schank continued to stand by him. However, he began expressing concern as more information about Epstein’s behavior started coming to light. In 2013 Schank wrote “what the fuck is this,” in an email forwarded to Epstein in which Bray Entertainment Casting said they were creating a TV documentary series and were interested in the Epstein case.