Florida prosecutors knew about Jeffrey Epstein's sexual assaults on teenage girls two years before they agreed to a lenient plea deal, as revealed by newly released grand jury transcripts from 2006.
The investigations uncovered Epstein's close ties to former president Bill Clinton and Britain's Prince Andrew, and his once-friendly relationship with former president Donald Trump. The transcripts show the grand jury heard testimony that Epstein, who was then in his 40s, had raped teenage girls as young as 14 at his Palm Beach mansion, often paying them so he could commit statutory rape or assault.
Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while his associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving 20 years for sex trafficking crimes.Criticism of the deal resulted in the 2019 resignation of Trump's labour secretary, Alex Acosta, the US attorney for South Florida in 2008 and who signed off on the deal. "It is so sad, the number of victims Epstein was able to abuse because the State carried water for him when they had a chance to put him away."According to the transcripts, Palm Beach Police Detective Joe Recarey testified in July 2006 that the initial investigation began when a woman reported in March 2005 that her stepdaughter, who was in high school at the time, said she received $US300 in exchange for "sexual activity with a man in Palm Beach," Mr Recarey testified.
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