Jeffrey Epstein timeline: How the Palm Beach County case led to 15 more years of sex abuse
The Jeffrey Epstein saga began — and could have ended — in Palm Beach County in 2006. The Palm Beach Post sued in 2019 to find out why it didn't. Now, secret documents detailing what happened 17 years ago when Epstein was indicted on only a single prostitution charge could become public under a new state law.
The Jeffrey Epstein case began in Palm Beach County in 2005, though it was later revealed in Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal case that his sexual abuse of children here began a decade earlier. In the 1990s, Maxwell enlisted Epstein's chauffeur and traveled all over the county to find girls for Epstein. She picked up one of the most spotlighted ones, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, at Mar-a-Lago where the 15-year-old and her father worked.
By the mid-2000s, Maxwell apparently participated less in that mission for Epstein. The early case focused on Epstein's network of middle and high school-age girls.
Epstein bought his mansion on El Brillo Way in Palm Beach in 1990. Since his death, it has been sold and demolished.
Read The Palm Beach Post' investigation: Jeffrey Epstein case, the first failure: To the first prosecutors, Epstein's victims were prostitutes
2005 - The police investigation of Jeffrey Epstein begins
March 14 - Molestation of 14-year-old reported to police
The stepmother of a 14-year-old girl who attends Royal Palm Beach High School reports to police on the island of Palm Beach that her stepdaughter has been molested by a wealthy man. The stepmother tells a detective that "supposedly the man has a lot of money and often has young girls come to his house." The girl, in tears, tells the detective that she was taken upstairs to give Epstein a massage. When Epstein came into the room wearing only a towel, he sternly told the girl to take her clothes off. She stripped down to her bra and a thong. As she massaged him, he masturbated. Afterward, he paid her $300. The next day she got into a fight at school after another girl called her a prostitute. She never went back to Epstein's mansion.
Police begin interviewing more girls, who led them to others who say Jeffrey Epstein had molested or raped them.
Oct. 20 - Police search Epstein's home
Missing in the search at 358 El Brillo Way are several computers, which police believe possibly contain names and photos of victims. Palm Beach Detective Joseph Recarey says he believes Epstein was tipped off about the search and that the computers were in the vault of an Epstein attorney.
Later, federal prosecutors would try to get those computers. Marie Villafana, the chief federal prosecutor, said she suspected child porn was on them.
Dec. 19 - Epstein's legal dream team arrives
Defense lawyers swoop in on Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer. Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who had helped to successfully defend O.J. Simpson 10 years earlier, hands him the MySpace pages of several victims, which mention sex, drinking and drugs. Other defense lawyers include local powerhouses such as Jack Goldberger and Roy Black as well as nationally known attorneys Gerald Lefcourt and Kenneth Starr.
2006 - How Jeffrey Epstein gets indicted
Feb. 22-23 - MySpace pages
First grand jury scheduled; three victims are scheduled to testify. Though the Palm Beach police find more victims, only three are scheduled to testify. Former Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter recalled later that prosecutors told him they wouldn't level charges for any victim 16 years old or older unless it was under "extraordinary circumstances," meaning rape.
Prosecutors cancel grand jury in order to assess MySpace pages.
April 1 - Victims tell detective that they and their families are being hounded by Epstein-paid private eyes
One victim’s father tells detective Recarey that private eyes are harassing his family, even running them off the road. Another says an Epstein "source" contacted her and said, "Those who help him will be compensated, and those who hurt him will be dealt with." Recarey reports the incidents to the state attorney's office. Witness tampering can be a crime. Nothing happens.
April 17 - Deal for probation offered
Another grand jury scheduled for April 18-19 is canceled. Prosecutors and Epstein's lawyers try to negotiate a guilty plea to aggravated assault that carried no jail time. Epstein rejects it.
May 1 - Krischer's objectivity questioned by Palm Beach police chief
Police Chief Reiter questions the "highly unusual" way Krischer is handling the case, suggesting Krischer might want to disqualify himself.
Child sex crimes prosecutor, Daliah Weiss (now a circuit court judge), bows out after Epstein hires her husband's law firm. She was known to be a hard-nosed prosecutor on the child sex-crimes unit.
Recarey sends prosecutors a proposed arrest document that lists five victims of felonies — girls who were under 16 or those who'd been raped. There were many victims aged 16 and older who told police they'd been sexually abused, but they were listed as witnesses because of the state law at the time. If convicted of the felonies against all five victims and given the maximum sentence on each, Epstein could have been sentenced to 75 years in prison.
May 23 - The FBI and federal prosecutors enter the picture
Reiter and Recarey, concerned about how the state attorney was handling the case, start talking to the FBI and federal prosecutors about taking over.
July 19 - Grand jury indicts Epstein on a single solicitation of prostitution charge
Prosecutor Lanna Belohlavek presents the case to a grand jury with only one victim testifying. Belohlavek attacks the 14-year-old's credibility with her MySpace pages given to prosecutors by the defense.
The grand jury indicts Epstein on a felony charge of solicitation of prostitution — what a "john" propositioning an adult sex worker might face. The charge doesn't address the 14-year-old's age.
July 23 - Epstein arrested
Epstein spends one night in the Palm Beach County Jail. He is released the next day on $3,000 bond.
2007 - Negotiating the secret deal not to prosecute Epstein
Sept. 24 - "Deal of the century" is signed
Epstein signs what became known as the non-prosecution agreement, called the "deal of the century," with federal and state authorities in exchange for pleading guilty to two felony prostitution-related charges under Krischer. The deal requires Epstein to register as a sex offender. It also protects four named co-conspirators as well as any potential co-conspirators. Then the real negotiation begins among Krischer, federal prosecutors and Epstein's lawyers. Chief federal prosecutor Villafana stands ready several times to launch a 6- count federal indictment that came from a federal grand jury investigation.
2008 - Epstein pleads guilty, goes to jail
Jan. 10 - Victims deceived with FBI letter
The FBI sends a letter to victims urging patience while they “conduct a thorough investigation.” It does not say the federal investigation is already over because of the non-prosecution agreement signed in September.
POST EXCLUSIVE: Never-before-seen Jeffrey Epstein biography surfaces
June 30 - Epstein pleads guilty to two felonies
Epstein pleads guilty to the grand jury's charge of solicitation of prostitution and Krischer's charge of solicitation of a minor for prostitution. Instead of potential decades in federal prison, he’s sentenced to 18 months in jail. He would serve 13 months of his sentence in a private wing of the Palm Beach County jail reserved for snitches or others who need protection from other inmates for various reasons, such as having a lot of money.
He would spend mainly nights there, leaving on work release six days a week/12 hours a day. One woman said later that she was flown in to have sex with him at the offices of a foundation he'd formed months before his guilty plea.
2009 - Epstein out of jail. Did he violate house arrest?
July 22 - He can travel anywhere if he's back in 24 hours
Epstein is released from jail to spend a year on house arrest but he is allowed to travel frequently — such as to his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands — as long as he's back in 24 hours. His lawyers ask to end house arrest early, a request rejected by Krischer’s successor, Michael McAuliffe. A few potential violations of house arrest are documented in state attorney's files, but no one takes action. A violation could have sent Epstein back to jail.
2019 - New York prosecutors charge Epstein with sex trafficking
July 6 - Epstein arrested in New Jersey
New York prosecutors charge him with sex trafficking, related to incidents in Palm Beach and New York. He's arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, reportedly a hub of his sex trafficking network, after flying in from Paris. In a nationally televised news conference, former U.S. Attorney and Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta blames Krischer for bungling the case. Acosta later resigns.
Aug. 10 - Epstein found dead
The financier is found hanged in a Manhattan jail cell. The medical examiner rules it a suicide.
2020 - It's Ghislaine Maxwell's turn
July 2: Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is arrested
Federal prosecutors in New York charge Ghislaine Maxwell with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, saying she helped recruit the underage girls that Epstein sexually abused in New York and Palm Beach and sometimes participated in the abuse herself. The cases in Palm Beach County reach back to the mid-1990s.
Ghislaine Maxwell: Sex-trafficking trial to have Palm Beach focus even with its New York setting
2021 - Ghislaine Maxwell on trial
Dec. 30: Maxwell found guilty
After a month-long trial, Maxwell is found guilty of several charges, including sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity. Four victims testified against her, including Carolyn Andriano, who is from Palm Beach County and met Epstein when she was 14.
More: Jeffrey Epstein survivor who testified against Ghislaine Maxwell dies in West Palm Beach
2022 - Maxwell begins her prison term in Tallahassee
June 28: Maxwell in Tallahassee prison
Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. She's serving her time at a low-security prison in Tallahassee. Her release date is July 2037. She's teaching etiquette classes that "focus on respect, consideration and honesty," according to the class description.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the Palm Beach County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center can help. Reach their helpline at 561-833-7273, or toll-free at 866-891-7273.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jeffrey Epstein case timeline: Why early case failed in Palm Beach
