Rich sex offender Epstein settles 1 suit, but more to come

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A decade ago, Florida financier Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to sex crimes involving underage girls and got 13 months behind bars.

What the public and his accusers didn't know at the time was he had secretly struck a deal with federal prosecutors that spared him from charges that could have put him away for the rest of his life.

When the deal finally came to light years later, it immediately raised suspicions that Epstein – a man who counted Bill Clinton and Donald Trump among his friends and had some of the finest legal talent in America as his lawyers – had used his wealth and political connections to win special treatment.

Those allegations flared anew in recent weeks as news organizations, led by The Miami Herald, published interviews with the alleged victims and took a closer look at Alexander Acosta, who as the U.S. attorney in Miami in 2008 approved the secret deal. Acosta is now President Donald Trump's secretary of labor.

Today, a lawsuit that many had hoped would expose some of the lurid allegations against Epstein by putting some of his accusers on the stand ended abruptly in a settlement just as jury selection was about to begin.

But the attempt to get to the bottom of the Epstein case and how he managed to get such a light sentence is not over. Some of his accusers are pursuing a separate legal effort to nullify the plea agreement and, they hope, expose him to federal prosecution again.

"That injustice needs to be addressed and will be addressed," said Jack Scarola, one of the attorneys lined up against Epstein. "There is no justification for the broad scope of immunity that was granted."

Epstein, 65, reached the nonprosecution deal with Acosta's office while under investigation on suspicion of sexually abusing at least 40 teenage girls. Under the deal, he pleaded guilty to two state charges, did his time in jail, paid settlements to many of the alleged victims and registered as a sex offender.

He could have faced a far more severe penalty if federal prosecutors had pursued a draft 53-page indictment that was never filed and included sex trafficking charges.

Some of Epstein's accusers are now arguing that their rights were trampled under a federal law that says crime victims must be informed about plea bargains.

One of Epstein's lawyers, Roy Black, has said there was no conspiracy to violate victims' rights, and the plea agreement was "no sweetheart deal by any stretch of the imagination."

Even if the plea bargain is nullified, the final decision on bringing charges would rest solely with the Justice Department.