Acosta signs secret non-prosecution agreement shielding Epstein and unnamed co-conspirators from federal sex trafficking charges

U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta signed a non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein on September 24, 2007, finalized in mid-2008, allowing Epstein to avoid a 60-count federal indictment by pleading guilty to two state prostitution charges in Palm Beach County. Epstein served 13 months with work-release privileges and was required to register as a sex offender only in Florida. The agreement granted immunity from federal prosecution to Epstein, four named co-conspirators, and any unnamed potential co-conspirators. Prosecutors hid the deal from Epstein's victims until after it was signed, later ruled a violation of the Crime Victims' Rights Act of 2004.