Prosecutors in the 2008 Florida case against Jeffrey Epstein were aware of sexual assault allegations made by a 14-year-old child before they brokered a sweetheart deal that saw the high-profile financier serve only 13 months in prison, according to court documents reviewed by ABC News.
The woman, now 31, was questioned by the FBI and was later subpoenaed by Florida prosecutors to provide testimony before a West Palm Beach grand jury. She never got the opportunity to tell her story after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami signed a then-secret deal with Epstein that closed investigations into the matter. The woman was instrumental in the New York City indictment of Epstein 11 years later on conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges.
Epstein, who died inside a Manhattan correctional facility in August, pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges stemming from the Florida case and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, of which he served only 13 months and spent most days on leave in his private office. The guilty plea allowed Epstein to avoid charges with the possibility of a longer sentence and evade witness testimony from the minor in question.
“I certainly think with the FBI’s capabilities, even back then, that they could have unraveled the entire network from New York to Paris to New Mexico,” Spencer Kuvin, a Florida attorney who represented several of Epstein’s alleged victims during the Florida investigation, told ABC News. “[The government] shut this thing down and pled this thing out before going through and talking to probably more than half of the women that were involved in this whole thing. Had they conducted a full investigation and taken their time, this would’ve been a whole different story.”
Marie Villafana, the lead prosecutor during the 2008 Florida investigation, is barred from speaking about the allegations and is reportedly still “heartbroken” about the guilty plea result. Ty Kelly, Villafana’s attorney, implored the Justice Department to waive Villafana’s privilege so she can comment on the case.
The woman alleged she was recruited by Epstein at the age of 14 to provide massages at Epstein’s New York mansion and was encouraged by Epstein to bring other underage girls to the mansion. She said her interactions with Epstein have “forever scarred her and altered her life.”
