©2024 The News Service of Florida
A Palm Beach County circuit judge on Monday ordered the release of grand jury testimony about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, nearly two decades after a probe into allegations the wealthy financier sexually abused young women at his Palm Beach mansion.
Judge Luis Delgado ordered the testimony to be released the same day that a law aimed at making the records available went into effect.
Through a deal approved by prosecutors in 2007, Epstein sidestepped federal charges and agreed to plead guilty to two state prostitution charges, including procuring a minor for sex.
The Palm Beach Post’s parent company, CA Florida Holdings LLC, in 2019 filed a lawsuit against Palm Beach County officials seeking access to evidence, testimony and reports presented to the grand jury.
Delgado twice ruled that he lacked the authority to release the records, prompting the Legislature this year to pass a law expanding an exception to a prohibition on the disclosure of testimony or evidence received by grand juries.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill in February.
The change to the law “significantly modified the definition of ‘furthering justice’ to expressly include furthering a public interest” when requested records are related to a grand jury, Delgado wrote in Monday’s order.
“It cannot be understated that the amendment to the law very clearly allows what previously was not legally permissible,” he added.
Delgado’s order said the request for the records meets the new “matter of public interest” standard.
“The criminal prosecutions of the most infamous pedophile in American history began in Palm Beach County – with much controversy,” the judge wrote. “For almost 20 years, the story of how Jeffrey Epstein victimized some of Palm Beach County’s most vulnerable has 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” the judge added. “It is understandable that given those reports the public has a great curiosity about what was widely reported by news agency (sic) as ‘special treatment’ regarding his prosecution. This matter is clearly the subject of public interest,” Delgado’s order said.
The grand jury testimony includes details of sexual activity between Epstein and child victims of sex trafficking.
The testimony “concerns activity ranging from grossly unacceptable to rape — all of the conduct at issue is sexually deviant, disgusting, and criminal,” the judge wrote.
Epstein died on Aug. 10, 2019, in a New York jail.
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