Records containing detailed testimony from Jeffrey Epstein victims have been published in Florida. A grand jury in 2006 heard from women who described how they were abused by the disgraced billionaire, with one explaining that she was just 14 years old when the abuse began. The files contain shocking descriptions of violence and rape, and one girl told how Epstein raped her while she screamed in pain and begged him to stop. He later offered her $1,000 as an apology.
Reports additionally indicate that Florida prosecutors knew that Epstein had raped young girls before they offered him a plea deal. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution, but more serious federal charges were dropped. He was subsequently jailed for 1.5 years in Palm Beach County but was free to leave the jail every day to work.
Criticism of the deal ultimately prompted Alex Acosta, the US attorney for South Florida at the time, to resign years later. Acosta was subjected to a Justice Department probe in 2019, which concluded he had used “poor judgment” by exercising leniency in Mr. Epstein’s case.
The case against billionaire financier Epstein opened in 2005 when a young girl’s family reported him to police for molesting her at his Florida mansion. Several other girls subsequently came forward and gave similar accounts of abuse at Epstein’s hands. After his release from jail in 2009, he continued his exploits, and several other women fell prey.
Virginia Giuffre, one of his most outspoken victims, stated that he had arranged sexual encounters with young girls for high-profile men, including Prince Andrew, brother of the UK’s King Charles III.
Police arrested Epstein again in 2019, and he committed suicide in his jail cell. His girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of procuring young girls for men to abuse and is currently serving a 20-year term in a New York prison.