Transcripts from 2006 grand jury investigation into Epstein sex trafficking released

A Florida judge has released transcripts from a 2006 grand jury investigation that examined sex trafficking and rape allegations against late millionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The judge's release of the roughly 150 pages Monday afternoon came as a surprise, as he had scheduled a hearing next week to determine when and how to release them.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in February allowing the release on Monday or any time afterward, as ordered by Circuit Judge Luis Delgado.

“The details of the case will be scandalous to honest people,” Judge Delgado wrote in his order.

“The testimony gathered by the grand jury concerns activities ranging from the unacceptable to the rape – all of the behaviors involved are sexually deviant, disgusting and criminal.”

After the grand jury investigation, Epstein reached a deal with federal prosecutors in South Florida in 2008 that allowed him to escape more severe federal charges and plead guilty to state charges of pimping and soliciting prostitution from a person under 18.

He was sentenced to a year and a half in Palm Beach County Jail, followed by a year of house arrest. He was required to register as a sex offender.

The deal has been widely criticized as being too lenient.

In 2018, Epstein was charged with federal sex trafficking crimes in New York — where he also owned a mansion 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, federal officials said.

In his order, Judge Delgado called Epstein “the most infamous pedophile in American history.”

“For nearly 20 years, the story of how Jeffrey Epstein victimized some of the most vulnerable people in Palm Beach County has generated much anger and at times diminished the public’s perception of the criminal justice system,” the judge wrote.

“Epstein is indeed notorious and infamous and is widely reported to have flaunted his wealth while indulging in hobnobbing with politicians, billionaires and even British royalty,” he continued.

“It is understandable that in light of this information, the public is very curious about what has been widely presented by news agencies as 'special treatment' regarding his prosecution.”

The Associated Press is currently reviewing the transcripts.