A Florida judge unsealed 150 pages of grand jury documents Monday transcripts from 2006, which investigated allegations of human trafficking and rape against financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Newly released documents dating back 18 years, unsealed by Palm Beach County Judge Luis Delgado, show that prosecutors were aware of detailed allegations against Epstein years before the financier received a favorable deal.
According to testimony from 2006, the investigation into Epstein began a year earlier. Two victims were questioned during the proceedings, including one who alleged that Epstein, then in her 50s, had abused her when she was 14.
The second victim said she was raped by Epstein the day before her 18th birthday.
A detective who worked the case testified that the victims were paid for the sex acts and were encouraged to recruit other underage girls, saying, “The younger the better.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in February that would allow the release of the documents on July 1 or later. Florida grand jury transcripts are typically kept secret, but the bill an exception was made for cases like Epstein’s.
“There needs to be a mechanism in some of these rare circumstances where people can get to the truth and we can try to pursue justice,” DeSantis said when he signed the bill.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, Epstein struck a deal with prosecutors two years later. He served just 13 months in prison as part of a work-release program after pleading guilty to state prostitution offenses. He was also required to register as a sex offender.
Several of Epstein’s victims spoke out about the case in February.
“We have been left in the dark, with no answers as to what is going on and why things have turned out the way they have,” said Jena-Lisa Jones, one of the alleged victims.
The prosecution has been criticized for its questioning of the victims during the 2006 trial, including asking them to admit they had engaged in prostitution with Epstein. The prosecution also pointed out that some of the victims had past problems, including drug use and shoplifting.
“One of the most important lessons we learned from the grand jury testimony is that people have known about this problematic behavior for a long time and little was done to stop Jeffrey Epstein,” said CBS News legal fellow Jessica Levinson.
Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking dozens of underage girls. His death in jail before he was due to appear in court was a suicide ruled.
Last year, a Supervisor of the Ministry of Justice said a “combination of negligence and misconduct” allowed Epstein to commit suicide.
Twelve of Epstein’s accusers sued the FBI in February for failing to protect them, according to a complaint filed in federal court in New York. The complaint alleges that tips, reports and complaints about Epstein’s activities were provided to the FBI beginning in 1996.
Jericka Duncan
