Write to the Point
Those following the news recently have probably heard of the Palm Beach multi-millionaire Jeffery Epstein, thrust back in the spotlight after more than 10 years this week when he was charged with sex trafficking and a horde of lewd photographs of underage girls was discovered in his home. The current charges have sparked questions about the apparent mishandling of the investigation into Epstein’s activities years ago, and the carefully constructed pyramid of protection he built to shield himself from federal prosecution.
But now, thanks in part to an in-depth Miami Herald investigation, that pyramid is tumbling down, revealing secrets thought to have been locked away a decade ago and sealed by a non-prosecution agreement — an agreement that shut down an ongoing, successful FBI probe into not only additional victims but the slew of powerful people who may have taken part in similar sex crimes.
And what it says about America’s justice system, its court procedures, its fundamental legal processes, is damning.
In 2007, Epstein was accused of assembling a network of underage girls that media outlets and investigators alike have called “cult-like,” coercing them into sex acts at his home. He was also investigated for bringing minors from overseas for the same purposes, and investigators discovered at least 50 victims.
Epstein’s connections to powerful politicians could be considered concerning at best, and a smoking gun at worst. In a 2002 New York magazine profile of Epstein, current President Donald Trump said they’d known each other for 15 years and called him a “terrific guy,” saying, “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.”
Trump has since distanced himself from Epstein, as has former President Bill Clinton, who traveled in similar circles as Epstein immediately after leaving the White House. Epstein socialized regularly with Duke of York Prince Andrew, billionaire Victoria’s Secret CEO Leslie Wexner, and countless other well-heeled movers and shakers.
Epstein possessed every hallmark of obscene wealth — private jets, multiple waterfront properties spanning the country, an island in the Caribbean. And it’s that wealth that may have allowed Epstein to evade justice. Part of his 2007 agreement required him to register as a sex offender, but he spent just 13 months in a private wing of the Palm Beach County jail. Astoundingly, he was allowed to leave on work release for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week to a comfortable office in West Palm Beach, despite sheriff’s department rules stating sex offenders don’t qualify for work release. After his release, Epstein reportedly took several trips on his private jet while on probation.
The new information reveals troubling holes in the U.S. justice system, beyond the familiar story of consequences varying widely depending on the income bracket of the perpetrator. Alexander Acosta, then Miami’s top federal prosecutor and now the U.S. Labor Secretary, first agreed to the plea deal, which granted immunity to “any potential co-conspirators,” conveniently without naming them. Now, Acosta is the leader of a federal agency that oversees the country’s labor laws — which includes human trafficking.
The fact that a man who plead guilty to an offense against an underage girl — a prostitution charge, despite the fact that “child prostitute” is by definition an oxymoron — not only escaped severe consequences but was likely helped along by some of the very people Americans depend on to be decision makers in the country’s most complex legal questions and most serious punitive criminal matters should shake us to our very core.
The problems with this county’s criminal proceedings and incarceration rates are well-documented, and it’s true the U.S. has a long way to go in successful prison reform. But this might be a step beyond what talking heads battle over on cable news shows and high school students write their first persuasive essays on.
If true, these allegations of mishandling are a fundamental desecration of the ideals we hold true about our justice system, the ideals we have to hold in order to accept the rulings handed down by that system.
Anyone involved in that mishandling should face serious repercussions and be dealt with to the full extent of the law — even if they’re a millionaire.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
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