Judge sets rapid pace to end fight over Jeffrey Epstein sweetheart deal

Source: Herald Mail Media

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — By August, a federal judge should have the information he needs to decide whether to throw out a controversial agreement that allowed billionaire Jeffrey Epstein to escape federal prosecution for having sex with teens at his Palm Beach mansion.

In an order on Monday, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra set a brisk schedule for prosecutors and the young women’s attorneys to follow to help him unravel an unprecedented legal mess that was created in 2007 when the deal was inked.

Marra in February ruled that federal prosecutors violated the women’s rights by not conferring with them before deciding to shelve a 52-page federal indictment accusing Epstein, 66, of having sex with minors. However, while finding that prosecutors violated the federal Crime Victims Rights Act, Marra didn’t fashion a remedy.

Attorneys representing two of the politically connected money manager’s more than three dozen victims have long said they want the nonprosecution agreement to be thrown out.

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