Recently released transcripts have revealed that Florida prosecutors were aware of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual assaults on teenage girls two years before negotiating his controversial 2008 plea deal. This deal has faced long-standing criticism for being too lenient and a missed opportunity to imprison the millionaire financier much earlier.

The 2006 grand jury investigation was the first of many probes into Epstein’s rape and sex trafficking activities over the past two decades. These investigations uncovered Epstein’s connections to influential figures such as former President Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew, and former President Donald Trump, all of whom have denied any wrongdoing and have not been charged.

Circuit Judge Luis Delgado’s unexpected release of approximately 150 pages of transcripts on Monday preempted a scheduled hearing next week. This release was made possible by a bill signed in February by Gov. Ron DeSantis, creating an exemption for cases like Epstein’s, as Florida grand jury transcripts are usually kept secret indefinitely.

The grand jury heard testimonies that Epstein, then in his 40s, raped teenage girls as young as 14 at his Palm Beach mansion, often paying them to commit statutory rape or assault. The teenagers testified that they were also paid cash or rented cars if they found more girls for Epstein. "The details in the record will be outrageous to decent people," Delgado wrote in his order. "The testimony taken by the Grand Jury concerns activity ranging from grossly unacceptable to rape — all of the conduct at issue is sexually deviant, disgusting, and criminal."

In 2008, Epstein struck a deal with South Florida federal prosecutors, pleading guilty to state charges of procuring a minor for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution. This allowed him to avoid severe federal charges, resulting in a 1.5-year sentence in the Palm Beach County jail system, during which he was allowed daily work release, followed by a year of house arrest. Epstein was also required to register as a sex offender.

The lenient deal drew widespread criticism and led to the 2019 resignation of Trump’s labor secretary, Alex Acosta, who had been the U.S. attorney for South Florida in 2008. A subsequent 2020 Justice Department investigation concluded that Acosta exhibited "poor judgment" but did not commit professional misconduct.

Barry Krischer, the chief prosecutor during the Epstein case, has not commented on the transcripts’ release. Current Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who was not involved in the original investigation, expressed relief that the records are now public. "I have not yet read the transcripts, so I cannot comment on whether Krischer should have pursued a tougher prosecution of Epstein," Aronberg stated.

Brad Edwards, an attorney representing many of Epstein's victims, criticized the handling of the case. "The transcripts show that Krischer’s office took the case to the Grand Jury with an agenda — to return minimal, if any, criminal charges against Jeffrey Epstein," Edwards asserted. "A fraction of the evidence was presented, in a misleading way, and the Office portrayed the victims as criminals."

The released transcripts detail how Palm Beach Police Detective Joe Recarey testified in July 2006 about the investigation’s origins. It began in March 2005 when a woman reported that her stepdaughter had received $300 in exchange for “sexual activity with a man in Palm Beach.” Further investigation revealed multiple teenagers, some as young as 14, were approached and paid to engage in illicit activities at Epstein’s mansion.

One victim, who visited Epstein’s house hundreds of times starting at age 16, testified that she was paid $200 each time she gave him a massage while naked, received a rented car, and was given $1,000 after being raped. A 2005 police search of Epstein's mansion corroborated the girls’ testimonies, and Epstein's houseman confirmed the young ages of the visitors.