LONDON

Images from files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein show Nobel Prize-winning American scientist James Watson, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA, with women in Epstein’s house, according to a report Tuesday.

Images unearthed by the British daily The Telegraph show Watson, who died last year aged 97, smiling alongside three young women in a reception room in Epstein's New York mansion.

According to the report, although it is unclear when the pictures were taken, they appear to be from the mid to late 2010s, years after Epstein was released from jail on a child-sex offence.

One of the photos shows Watson with one of the women and a paper he had written about cancers and anti-oxidants

Watson and his co-discoverer Francis H.C. Crick achieved fame and received the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine for identifying the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that carries genetic information and forms the basis of chromosomes.

His controversial claims linking race and intelligence caused him to be isolated from the scientific community, with his honorary titles revoked in 2019.

However, Epstein appeared to endorse Watson’s widely discredited views. In a 2016 email exchange with Noam Chomsky, an American academic, the financier claimed baselessly that "the test score gap amongst African Americans is well documented."

"James Watson had some of his private views made public and hence his dismissal from society. He told me that after one sentence he became an un-person. Making things better might require accepting some uncomfortable facts,” the email continued.

Noting that there is no "suggestion of wrongdoing" by Watson at Epstein’s New York townhouse, The Telegraph noted that the photographs highlight Epstein’s efforts to cultivate close relationships with leaders in fields such as science, business and politics.

The files showed that Epstein exchanged dozens of emails about Watson with associates, including many discussing breakfast and dinner arrangements with the scientist.

In one email, Epstein appears to ask his friends to prepare questions for Watson on genetics ahead of meetings.

Epstein also purchased Watson’s 2002 autobiography Genes, Girls, and Gamow: After the Double Helix in 2014, according to the report.

An email to Epstein from Watson’s assistant in February 2007 said: "Dr. Jim Watson sent you some papers via FedEx. I have placed (them) on your dining room table for you."