KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — A pastor in Missouri was suspended last week after it was discovered she worked for and managed the private island of late-sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for nearly a year.
On Thursday, Bishop Robert Farr of the Missouri Conference of The United Methodist Church placed Rev. Stephanie L. Remington on leave, pending a review by the episcopal office.
Remington reportedly worked as Epstein’s administrative assistant and temporary property manager of his private island, Little Saint James, from August 2018 to May 2019. Epstein was arrested just two months later, in July 2019, for sex trafficking crimes, and then died in his cell by alleged suicide in August.
Despite having worked closely with the disgraced financier, Remington told United Methodist (UM) News that she never saw Epstein or anyone commit abuse on the island. However, she did admit that when she accepted the job she knew Epstein was a registered sex offender who had served 18 months for the conviction.
“I never saw anything,” Remington told the publication. “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.”
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FILE -This Tuesday, July 9, 2019 photo shows a view of Little St. James Island, in the U. S. Virgin Islands, a property owned by Jeffrey Epstein. The Associated Press has obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s jail suicide from the federal Bureau of Prisons under the Freedom of Information Act. (AP Photo/Gianfranco Gaglione, mFile)
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FILE – This July 9, 2019 photo shows Jeffery Epstein’s estate on Little Saint James Island in the U. S. Virgin Islands. The Associated Press has obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s jail suicide from the federal Bureau of Prisons under the Freedom of Information Act. (AP Photo/Gianfranco Gaglione, File)
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FILE – This July 9, 2019, file photo taken from video, shows an aerial view of Little Saint James Island, in the U. S. Virgin Islands, a property purchased by Jeffery Epstein more than two decades ago. A lawsuit filed Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, by prosecutors in the Virgin Islands says multimillionaire sex offender Jeffery Epstein used two private islands, including Little Saint James, in the U.S. territory to engage in a nearly two-decade conspiracy to traffic and abuse girls. (AP Photo/Gianfranco Gaglione, File)
It was later discovered that her name appears in approximately 1,800 documents of the Epstein files on the Department of Justice website. Many of the files are emails that discuss her “day-to-day” work operations, UM News reported.
At this time, Remington has not been accused of any crime, and her suspension is temporary (90 days).
Church leaders reported they were only recently made aware of Remington’s ties to Epstein and did not know of her previous employment.
“The Missouri Conference had no knowledge of the individual’s association with Mr. Epstein. Clergy serving in extension ministry operate outside a local church appointment and report their ministry setting through annual paperwork submitted to the Conference,” the Missouri Conference said.
“No information indicating this association was disclosed in any of those reports. The Bishop or district superintendent were not contacted about the individual’s interest in or acceptance of the Epstein-related position.”
Before working for Epstein, Remington served as a pastor and associate pastor at several churches across Missouri from 2001 to about 2018.
Her employment history includes two churches in the Kansas City metro: the First United Methodist Church in North Kansas City and the Summit United Methodist Church in Lee’s Summit.
According to the Missouri Conference, though, Remington claimed in her annual paperwork that she had performed extension ministry through the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary during the time she worked for Epstein, and as recently as 2025.
However, as part of the early review process, it was discovered that Remington had not worked for the Wesley Theological Seminary for all the years she claimed, having been appointed as a part-time contractor in only 2017 and 2018.
This alleged false documentation, in congruence with the Epstein ties, led the Missouri Conference to issue the suspension.
“Clergy are called to uphold the highest standards of spiritual and moral leadership. Concerns of this nature are taken seriously and require careful review,” the Missouri Conference said. “We recognize the deep harm connected to Mr. Epstein’s crimes and remain in prayer for survivors who deserve healing and justice.”
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