| | A decade before #MeToo, a multimillionaire sex offender from Florida got the ultimate break.
He was over 50.
They were little girls.
Their stories were almost identical.
The evidence was substantial.
BY JULIE K. BROWN AND AARON ALBRIGHT NOV. 28, 2018
[ Trump: “I've known Jeff (Epstein) for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it - Jeffrey enjoys his social life." ]
Jeffrey Epstein had a little black book filled with the names and personal phone numbers of some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential people, from Bill Clinton and Donald Trump to actors, actresses, scientists and business tycoons.
A money manager for the super-rich, Epstein had two private jets, the largest single residence in Manhattan, an island in the Caribbean, a ranch in New Mexico and a waterfront estate in Florida.
But Epstein also had an obsession.
For years, Epstein lured an endless stream of teenage girls to his Palm Beach mansion, offering to pay them for massages. Instead, police say, for years he coerced middle and high school girls into engaging in sex acts with him and others.
As evidence emerged that there were victims and witnesses outside of Palm Beach, the FBI began an investigation in 2006 into whether Epstein and others employed by him were involved in underage sex trafficking.
But in 2007, despite substantial evidence that corroborated the girls’ stories of abuse by Epstein, the U.S. attorney in Miami, Alexander Acosta, signed off on a secret deal for the multimillionaire, one that ensured he would never spend a day in prison.
Acosta, now President Donald Trump’s secretary of labor, agreed to seal the agreement so that no one — not even Epstein’s victims — would know the full extent of his crimes or who was involved.
This is the story of that deal — and how his victims, more than a decade later, are still fighting a criminal justice system that has stubbornly failed to hold wealthy, powerful men accountable for sexual abuse.
More from the series
PART ONE How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime
PART TWO Cops worked to put serial sex abuser in prison. Prosecutors worked to cut him a break
PART THREE Even from jail, sex abuser manipulated the system. His victims were kept in the dark
INTERACTIVE Sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein was surrounded by powerful people. Here’s a sampling
TIMELINE For years, Jeffrey Epstein abused teen girls, police say. A timeline of his case
Read
How Miami Herald journalists investigated Jeffrey EpsteinThe Team
Investigative Reporter: Julie K. Brown
Investigations Editor: Casey Frank
Visual Journalist: Emily Michot
Interaction Designer: Aaron Albright
Video production: Marta Oliver Craviotto, Matias Ocner
Copy Editor: Mary Behne
Social Media Editors: Adrian Ruhi, Noel Gonzalez
Director of Design: Jessica Gilbert
Senior Manager of Design: Eddie Alvarez
Part 1A Sex Pyramid Scheme
Part 2Undermining the Case
Part 3Another Kind of Justice
Epstein's Connections
The Timeline
Support investigative journalismThe Miami Herald obtained thousands of FBI and court records, lawsuits, and witness depositions, and went to federal court in New York to access sealed documents in the reporting of "Perversion of Justice." The Herald also tracked down more than 60 women who said they were victims, some of whom had never spoken of the abuse before.
Miami Herald?Verified account @MiamiHerald
Epstein could have spent life in prison, but he only served a little more than a year in jail. Why? A secret deal was struck — an extraordinary plea arrangement — with help from future Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta.
Polly Sigh? @dcpoll
Runaway teen Virginia Roberts was working at Trump's Mar-a-Lago when she was lured by child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein into a life of depravity & sexual abuse. Epstein 'lent' her to other men, including his attorney, Alan Dershowitz.
@MiamiHerald
More
"I don't think anyone has been told the truth about what Jeffrey Epstein did," said Michelle Licata, now 30. "He ruined my life and a lot of girls' lives. People need to know what he did and why he wasn't prosecuted so it never happens again."
What he did, according to interviews with victims and police, was lure girls, aged 13 to 16, to his mansion for a "massage." He would molest them, paying extra for oral sex and intercourse, and offering more money to bring him new girls, like an underage sex pyramid scheme.
Miami Herald?Verified account @MiamiHerald
The evidence police collected to support the victims' stories was impressive. "We had victims who didn't know each other, never met each other and they all basically told the same story."
Miami Herald?Verified account @MiamiHerald
But they continued their work, finding evidence that supported the girls' allegations: Phone calls and messages like, "Tanya can't come at 7 p.m. tomorrow because she has soccer practice," and naked photographs of girls in Epstein's closet.
Miami Herald?Verified account @MiamiHerald
One victim, Courtney Wild, who was 14 when she met Epstein, is suing the federal government, alleging that prosecutors kept victims in the dark as part of a conspiracy to give Epstein one of the most lenient deals for a serial child sex abuser in history.
Miami Herald?Verified account @MiamiHerald
Once behind bars, #JeffreyEpstein didn't go to state prison like most sex offenders in Florida. He didn’t even spend much time in his cell.
Miami Herald?Verified account @MiamiHerald
He was allowed to leave for work release six days a week. His year of "house arrest" included trips to New York and the Virgin Islands. Part 3 of #PerversionofJustice: |
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