Epstein grand jury records released, describe trafficker's network for 'grooming' underage girls

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Jeffrey Epstein, the sex-trafficking financier who died in federal custody while awaiting trial, had a network of groomed girls in Palm Beach, Florida, recruiting victims for him as far back as 2005, according to newly unsealed grand jury transcripts from a child trafficking case that he largely escaped with a slap on the wrist nearly 20 years ago.

The 176-page document contains new details about Epstein's crimes, including specifics about cash payouts to teens who recruited one another for Epstein's misdeeds, firsthand accounts from child sex-assault victims, and allegations of rape.

Palm Beach police initially opened the case after a fight between girls at a local high school, according to the transcript. One, just 16, had been accused of prostitution by a classmate, and a school official later found $300 in her purse, which originally came from Epstein, according to the documents.