The US Department of Justice has released a cache of heavily redacted documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Among them, a set of handwritten FBI investigative notes provides a chilling, granular insight into the specific demands Epstein made of those procuring young women and underage girls for his sexual predation.
Grim Details from a 2019 FBI Interview
The document, identified as EFTA00004179, contains notes from an FBI interview conducted on 2 May 2019. While the subject's identity is redacted, the contents paint a stark picture. The notes detail a frantic effort to recruit girls, with sexual encounters often disguised as "massages." They also explicitly outline Epstein's preferences regarding the age and race of the victims.
According to the notes, a witness described a "desperate time" when the network was "running out of girls." A "dark-skinned Dominican" girl was brought to Epstein, but he complained, "JE didn't want Spanish or dark girl." The procurer, whose initials are redacted, was told by Epstein to "keep looking for girls." The witness stated Epstein paid the girl directly, but was unsure if he paid the recruiter.
The notes become more disturbing, referencing a bathroom scene and Epstein making "crazy noises" while touching victims "roughly." Crucially, they state that at one point Epstein asked a girl for her ID, "wanted make sure under 18 b/c he wasn't believing them." This followed the procurer having "messed up by bringing more older girls." The file also includes photographs of girls, described as being between 14 and 17 years old, in locations around New York.
Connections to Brazil and Wider Network
The released information aligns with Epstein's known interest in sourcing victims from Brazil. The notes mention a "Big Brazilian group." This connection is further evidenced by other figures in the case. Marina Lacerda, a Brazilian immigrant identified as "Minor-Victim 1" in the federal indictment, publicly detailed her abuse by Epstein from age 14. Her testimony was pivotal in Epstein's indictment.
Furthermore, Jean-Luc Brunel, the French modelling scout who founded an agency with Epstein's support, was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of trafficking and raping underage girls. He was accused of supplying over a thousand girls to Epstein. In April 2019, Brunel was reportedly in Brazil scouting for new models. He died by suicide in a Paris prison in February 2022.
Epstein's longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted for her role in the trafficking scheme and is currently serving a 20-year sentence. She was also reportedly traced to Brazil following Epstein's death.
Fallout and Calls for Full Transparency
This document release, ordered during Donald Trump's presidency, has been criticised for being both partial and heavily censored. US legislators have accused the Justice Department of violating the law by not releasing all files related to the Epstein case. The redactions continue to obscure the full scope of the network and the identities of potential co-conspirators.
Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. He died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019, while awaiting trial. The release of these notes, however grim, represents only a fragment of the evidence, leaving many questions unanswered and fuelling demands for complete transparency into one of the most notorious sexual abuse cases in modern history.
