S1, E8: The Sweetheart Deal

Truth and Lies: The Boston Strangler

ABC News

Society & Culture, True Crime

4.4 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2020

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Back in Palm Beach, local authorities build what they believe is a solid case against Jeffrey Epstein and they turn it over to the FBI, confident the feds will investigate and prosecute Epstein as the local police feel he deserves. Victims ?from Florida, New York and New Mexico are interviewed by the FBI ?over the course of two years -- and ?they are assured that the wheels of justice are turning. But what eventually happens stuns Palm Beach police and the women who, despite fearing for their safety, opened up old wounds to cooperate with federal investigators. How did the millionaire from Palm Beach, accused of sexually abusing potentially over 30 girls and young women across the country, end up spending just over a year in a local jail cell that allowed to come and go almost as he pleased? Just who was behind the "sweetheart" deal Epstein got, leaving victims both angry and betrayed? And new information from ABC News shows federal investigators knew even more years ago than has been previously reported about allegations against Epstein -- this time, surrounding a 14-year old girl in New York. "Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein" is a co-production of the award-winning ABC News Investigative Unit and ABC Audio, makers of "The Dropout," "A Killing On the Cape," "Have You Seen This Man?," the daily ABC News podcast "Start Here," and more: http://www.abcaudio.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast includes graphic descriptions of sexual assault. It may not be suitable for all listeners
0:08.1	It's 2008 and victims rights attorney Brad Edwards is racing to the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida
0:15.4	I drove to the clerk's office to hand deliver this
0:20.0	Honestly, I had this feeling in me at that point in time
0:23.9	Something has to be done and it has to be done now
0:26.6	He didn't know exactly what was going on
0:29.4	But he'd put together an urgent petition to stop whatever it was
0:33.7	Somebody has to do something literally right this second
0:36.8	He's under the belief that a major deal between the feds and Jeffrey Epstein that would affect two of his clients
0:43.5	Is about to be signed and the chance to do something about it is winding down. I
0:49.4	described this massive criminal operation in all of these child victims
0:56.0	and and they're not being
0:58.6	Communicated with about just basics of what's going on with their case by now a federal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein had been going on for almost two years
1:08.1	And Brad's clients were growing frustrated at being left in the dark
1:12.5	You know what's happening is he gonna be put in prison like what is happening with this case and the more we
1:20.0	Investigated the situation nothing happened Brad arrives at the court petition in hand
1:25.6	This was my very first filing in any federal court and I walked into the clerk's office and handed her
1:32.2	this pleading and
1:34.6	Told the clerk that
1:37.6	Look, I'm filing this and I need a hearing
1:41.6	This and she said okay, you'll you'll get a hearing and I said no, I need a hearing today
1:48.0	But his emphatic demand was not well received he says and she looked at me like I was absolutely crazy
	...

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