Lawmaker seeks state probe into Epstein release

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida lawmaker known as a champion for child sexual abuse victims asked Gov. Ron Desantis on Tuesday to authorize a state investigation into the circumstances of wealthy convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s freedom to leave jail on work release a decade ago.

Democratic state Sen. Lauren

Book said in a letter Tuesday that the Republican governor should order a Florida Department of Law Enforcement inquiry into how the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office handled the case. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw announced last week that his office would internally investigate Epstein’s time at the county jail, but Book said that’s not enough.

“When an atrocity occurs in our state and there is a breakdown involving law enforcement, I believe it is appropriate for FDLE to step in and investigate,” Book wrote to Desantis.

Under a 2008 plea deal, Epstein was allowed out on work release 12 hours a day, six days a week, while completing a 13-month sentence on prostitution-related charges involving underage girls. Epstein also was required in the state case to register as a sex offender and pay restitution to many of his victims.

The 2008 deal also included a federal non-prosecution agreement that spared Epstein from far more serious federal charges involving dozens of young girls at the time. A Miami Herald investigation prompted a groundswell of criticism that led to the resignation of President Donald Trump’s labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, who was Miami U.S. attorney when the Epstein deal was struck.

Epstein, 66, faces new federal sex trafficking charges in New York and has pleaded not guilty. In a filing made public Tuesday, Epstein wants the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to reverse U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman’s conclusion that he remain jailed because he is a danger to the community and a flight risk partly because of his great wealth.