Ron DeSantis approves release of more Jeffrey Epstein records: Florida governor signs bill to release details of his Palm Beach sex trafficking conviction

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill approving the release of records relating to the first probe into Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation.

The Republican traveled to Palm Beach to sign the bill, HB 117, which will open access to the 2006 grand jury that resulted in a criminal charge against the disgraced financier that many called questionably lenient.

'There were a lot of questions about what happened where you had a sweetheart deal... This is long overdue but again, we feel that we can't just turn a blind eye,' said DeSantis, who was accompanied by two of Epstein's victims, Haley Robson and Jena-Lisa Cordovez.

'What happened was clearly wrong, and the punishment was simply wholly inadequate to the crime.'

The bill, unanimously passed by the state Legislature last week, will take effect on July 1. However, the records could be released sooner as part of a lawsuit by the Palm Beach Post.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis traveled to Palm Beach to sign the bill, HB 117, which will open access to the 2006 grand jury that resulted in a criminal charge against Jeffrey Epstein

The bill would open access to the first probe into Epstein's sexual abuse of minors. Epstein is seen with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell 

Last year, a Florida appeals court has opened the door for the possible release of transcripts of the grand jury investigation into the notorious sex trafficker - which ended with prosecutors negotiating a plea deal.

Florida’s treatment of Epstein came under scrutiny in 2018 following a series of Miami Herald articles that detailed the disagreements that surfaced beginning in 2005 among law enforcement officials after teenage girls and young women told Palm Beach police investigators that Epstein had sexually assaulted them. 

Palm Beach police thought they had a strong case to bring sexual assault charges against Epstein but Krischer and his prosecutors disagreed, saying Epstein's attorneys would have avenues to attack the victims' credibility and a conviction was unlikely.

A grand jury heard the case but no indictment was issued.

Palm Beach police, meanwhile, took their evidence to federal prosecutors, who threatened to bring charges until an agreement was reached in June 2008. 

'This is long overdue but again, we feel that we can't just turn a blind eye,' said DeSantis, who was accompanied by two of Epstein's victims

Palm Beach authorities investigated Epstein between 2005 and 2006 after teenage girls and young women told investigators that the billionaire financier had sexually assaulted them at his Palm Beach mansion, which has since been torn down

Epstein then pleaded guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and felony solicitation of prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months in the Palm Beach County jail system followed by 12 months of house arrest and required to register as a sex offender. 

The financier was 66 when he killed himself in a New York City federal jail cell in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Federal prosecutors had accused him of paying underage girls hundreds of dollars for massages at his homes in Florida and New York, where he then molested them. 

In 2019, just days before Epstein killed himself, DeSantis ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to take over the investigation of how the Epstein case was handled by state employees.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement  said it found no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein received special treatment

In 2021, Florida detectives cleared Palm Beach prosecutors and sheriff's officials of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with their handling of the sex offender.

Both the state attorney's office and sheriff had been criticized by Epstein's victims and their advocates for the sentencing deal he received and for his participation in a work-release program that allowed him to travel to his office most days for up to 16 hours, where he possibly engaged in the sexual abuse of underage girls. 

In three separate reports, Florida investigators wrote they found no evidence that any sheriff's deputy, former State Attorney Barry Krischer or any of his prosecutors 'was coerced, bribed or engaged in any criminal activity in the performance of their duties'. 

While in Palm Beach sheriff’s custody, Epstein was allowed to stay in an isolated cell at the county’s minimum-security stockade, where he roamed freely and watched television. 

State investigators said in a 2021 report that isolating him was a prudent decision, saying it was made to protect Epstein from other inmates and to prevent him from using his wealth to become 'king of the dorms.'

Epstein was also soon allowed into the county’s work-release program. During that time, he was taken to his office, where he claimed to be running his financial consulting business and his foundation. 

By the time of his release, he was spending six days a week and 18 hours a day at his office. He was required to wear an ankle monitor and hire two deputies to oversee his whereabouts from the lobby, but they were not in his office with him.

A woman who was then 17 and another woman, who was then an adult, have said they were trafficked to Epstein’s office during that time to have paid sex with him.

Epstein’s former girlfriend, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of luring girls to his homes to be molested.