Florida Prosecutors Knew Jeffrey Epstein Molested Young Girls Years Before Plea Deal | Jeffrey Epstein

Florida prosecutors knew that late millionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually assaulted teenage girls two years before they struck a plea deal that has long been criticized as too lenient and a missed opportunity to imprison him a decade early, according to transcripts released Monday.

The 2006 grand jury investigation was the first in a long line of investigations by law enforcement over the past two decades into Epstein’s rape and sex trafficking of teenage girls — and how his connections to the rich and powerful appear to have allowed him to avoid prison or serious jail time for more than a decade.

Investigations have exposed Epstein’s close ties to Bill Clinton and Britain’s Prince Andrew, as well as his once-friendly relationships with Donald Trump and many other wealthy and influential people who have denied doing anything criminal or improper and have not been charged.

Circuit Judge Luis Delgado’s release Monday of about 150 pages came as a surprise, as a hearing was scheduled for next week to unveil the explicit testimony. Gov. Ron DeSantis had signed a bill in February authorizing the release Monday or any time later at Delgado’s direction. Florida grand jury transcripts are typically kept secret forever, but the bill created an exemption for cases like Epstein’s.

Transcripts show that the grand jury heard testimony that Epstein, who was in his 40s at the time, raped girls as young as 14 at his Palm Beach home, often paying them so he could commit a rape or assault. The teens testified and told detectives they were also paid in cash or rental cars if they found him other girls.

“The details of the case will be shocking to honest people,” Delgado wrote in his order. “The testimony gathered by the grand jury involves activities ranging from the unacceptable to the rape – all of the behaviors involved are sexually deviant, disgusting and criminal.”

In 2008, Epstein struck a deal with federal prosecutors in South Florida that allowed him to escape more serious federal charges and plead guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and soliciting prostitution. He was sentenced to a year and a half in the Palm Beach County jail system, during which he was allowed to report to his office almost daily under a parole program, followed by a year of house arrest. He was required to register as a sex offender.

The lead prosecutor in the Epstein case, former Palm Beach County prosecutor Barry Krischer, did not immediately respond Monday to an email and voicemail seeking comment on the release of the transcripts.

Current Palm Beach County District Attorney Dave Aronberg, who was not involved in the investigation, said in a statement that he was pleased the documents had been made public. He said he had not yet read the transcripts and therefore could not comment on whether Krischer should have pursued harsher charges against Epstein.

Brad Edwards, an attorney for many victims, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

According to 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 had received $300 in exchange for “sexual activity with a man in Palm Beach,” Recarey testified.

Another teenage girl, whose name was redacted in the transcript, told detectives she was 17 when she was approached by a friend who told her she could earn $200 providing a massage at Epstein’s home.

Once at the house, the teenager was led into a room by an Epstein assistant, and shortly after, Epstein came in and asked her to undress. She complied and began the massage. When Epstein tried to touch her, she told him she was uncomfortable. Epstein then told her he would pay her if she brought other “girls” to his house. She agreed to do so, according to the October 2005 interview with detectives recounted by Recarey.

“And he said, ‘The younger the better,'” Recarey said.

When she brought a 23-year-old friend, Epstein told her the friend was too old. Over time, the teen brought six friends from her high school to Epstein’s home, including a 14-year-old girl, the detective said.

The teenager, who likens herself to Hollywood detective Heidi Fleiss, said the girls knew what they were getting into. She was paid $200 for every friend she brought.

Epstein was charged in 2018 with sex trafficking in New York — where he also owned a home that was the scene of abuse — after the Miami Herald published a series of articles that renewed public attention on the case, including interviews with some of the victims who had filed civil lawsuits against him. Epstein was 66 when he killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, according to federal authorities.