Epstein Assaults Known To FL Prosecutors 2 Years Before Plea Deal

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Two years before Florida prosecutors agreed to a plea deal with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, grand jury transcripts showed authorities were aware of his sexual assault of teenage girls.

Epstein, who lived in New York and Florida, was sentenced to 13 months in prison in 2008 and died on Aug. 10, 2019, at Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.

He was convicted of sex trafficking and rape, BBC reported.

A newly released transcript proves two teenage girls gave a grand jury testimony in 2006 ahead of Epstein's 2008 plea deal, news outlet People reported. Detectives who led a probe into abuse claims against Epstein also testified, the outlet reported.

The estimated 150-page transcript was unsealed Monday by Circuit Judge Luis Delgado, days before a scheduled hearing next week to ponder the release of the testimony, the Associated Press reported.

The transcript release came after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in February to permit the release, the news outlet reported.

"The 2006 grand jury investigation was the first of many by law enforcement over the past two decades into Epstein’s rape and sex trafficking of teenagers — and how his ties to the rich and the powerful seem to have allowed him to avoid prison or a serious jail term for over a decade. The investigations uncovered Epstein’s close ties to former President Bill Clinton and Britain’s Prince Andrew, as well as his once friendly relationship with former President Donald Trump and numerous others of wealth and influence who have denied doing anything criminal or improper and not been charged," the Associated Press wrote.

According to the transcript, grand jury testimony included rape allegations of girls as young as age 14 at Epstein's Palm Beach mansion, the news outlet reported. Epstein, who was in his 40s at the time, was accused of paying the girls "so he could commit statutory rape or assault."

The teenagers also said they were given cash or rental cars if they "found him more girls," the outlet reported.

The Florida plea deal has long been criticized as too lenient and a missed opportunity to imprison Epstein a decade earlier, the AP said.

Per BBC, Delgado made the following comments in the transcript release:

"The testimony taken by the Grand Jury concerns activity ranging from grossly unacceptable to rape — all of the conduct at issue is sexually deviant, disgusting, and criminal."

Referring to Epstein as "the most infamous pedophile in American history", the judge added that the state's leniency in the case "been the subject of much anger and has at times diminished the public's perception of the criminal justice system."

"Epstein is indeed notorious and infamous and is widely reported to have flaunted his wealth while cavorting with politicians, billionaires, and even British Royalty. It is understandable that given those reports the public has a great curiosity about what was widely reported by news (agencies) as 'special treatment' regarding his prosecution."