Nearly six years after pleading guilty to a crime that should have made him inadmissible, Jeffrey Epstein visited Canada, and federal government officials are not providing answers about why he was allowed into the country.

Documents confirming Epstein’s 2014 trip to Vancouver were among three million pages released Friday by the US Justice Department in its investigation into allegations that the convicted sex offender ran a child-trafficking operation for sex for the rich and powerful.

It is unclear why Epstein was admitted to Canada, given his 2008 guilty plea and 18-month prison sentence on two prostitution charges, includingleading a minor to prostitution.

Epstein, an American citizen, was deemed inadmissible to Canada because he had been convicted of at least one offense that would constitute an indictable offense under Canadian law, according to official letter from the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles in 2018.

That letter rejected Epstein’s request for a temporary resident permit that would have allowed him to be exempt from traveling to Canada despite his record.

Such permits “may be issued only in exceptional circumstances that can best be described as humanitarian and compassionate, or occasionally, when compelling Canadian interests are served,” the April 4, 2018, letter said.

“After a careful and compassionate review balancing all the factors, I have determined that there are insufficient grounds to merit the issuance of a license in your case,” it said.

Yet Epstein was traveling in and out of Canada four years earlier, despite the same convictions on his record.

No response from federal officials

Documents released Friday show he had travel reservations for Vancouver March 17-20, 2014, that he participated in the TED conference in the city during those dates, and booked a massage at the Four Seasons Hotel.

A US Customs and Border Protection document released last month said Epstein flew to Seattle from Vancouver on March 20, 2014.

So why was he allowed into the country on that trip? Federal officials are not talking.

CBC News asked Canada’s Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship if Epstein has applied for or been granted a temporary residence permit. The federal ministry referred all questions to the Canada Border Security Agency (CBSA).

But the CBSA refused to say.

“We cannot comment on specific cases because a person’s immigration and border data are considered personal data and are protected Privacy Act,” Guillaume Bérubé, acting director of media relations for the CBSA, said in an email to CBC News on Monday night.

“Passenger eligibility is decided on a case-by-case basis and based on information available at the time of entry.”

Chris Alexander, who was Canada’s citizenship and immigration minister in 2014, says he was unaware of Epstein’s visit.

“If he did come to Canada at that time, it was a very serious lapse in immigration enforcement,” Alexander said in an email to CBC News.

“Our government’s position has been very clear that all persons (including US citizens) with criminal records are inadmissible and that these provisions of the law should be rigorously enforced.”