Southeast
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.
She testified that she had been instructed to concoct a fake life story and pretend to be 18 to get $200 to give Epstein a massage before the first time she met him. Then she revealed she was asked to strip down to her underwear and had a graphic sexual encounter with him.
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Jeffrey Epstein pictured in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Sept. 8, 2004. (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
In a court order authorizing the release of the documents, Circuit Judge Luis Delgado warned that the contents were disturbing.
“It is widely accepted that Epstein is a notorious and serial pedophile,” the order reads. “The testimony taken by the Grand Jury concerns activity ranging from grossly unacceptable to rape – all of the conduct at issue is sexually deviant, disgusting, and criminal. The details in the record will be outrageous to decent people.”
Joseph Abruzzo, who serves as Palm Beach County’s court clerk and comptroller, announced the release of the documents shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday, hours after a new Florida law took effect legalizing the release of grand jury materials in certain cases. Grand jury proceedings are typically kept secret.
The transcript shows that prosecutors asked the victims if they were aware that they may have committed the crime of prostitution and did not describe Epstein as a “pedophile” in questioning before the grand jury.
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Photo from 2001 that was included in court files shows Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the prince. Andrew has denied the charges. In the background is Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (Florida Southern District Court) (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)
An investigator on the witness stand, however, referenced a March 14, 2005, phone call from a victim’s mother who was concerned about “sexual activity” involving her step-daughter.
“What had occurred was that [redacted] had gotten into a fight at [redacted] School,” the doc explains. “And subsequently, after the fight, they discovered $300 in her purse.”
“When questioning the $300, she had told ’em that she had received it from a man in Palm Beach.”
The girl explained to a detective that she was taken to a house to massage “a wealthy man in Palm Beach,” – and the documents identified the man as Epstein.
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A partially-redacted evidence photo shows various girls smiling for a picture on Jeffrey Epstein’s Little St. James Island in 2006. The documents pertaining to a 2017 civil lawsuit from Epstein-accuser Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell have been made public by a federal judge. (SDNY)
On page 102 of the document, a search of Jeffrey Epstein’s home found that a dildo was found in a bedroom. In earlier testimony, one of his underage accusers said he had offered her an extra $100 – on top of $200 for a massage – if she’d let him use a similar toy on her.
The documents also reveal one of Epstein’s victims being interviewed about the money she was given for acts she performed.
“And I was like, I got $300,” the girl said. “And I was like, kind – I was excited. $300.”
One victim disclosed that she was 17 years old when she had sex with Epstein. The encounter took place on the day before her 18th birthday. Another said she was in her early teens when the financier used a sex toy on her and masturbated.
Jeffrey Epstein mugshot, 2019. (Kypros/Getty Images)
“And for my birthday he gave me, like, a couple [of] bras and panties,” the victim said. She was also asked to stay in the room while Epstein had sex with Nadia Marcinko.
When asked if she wanted to have sexual intercourse with him, the victim answered no but said that it was “stupid of [her] to put myself in that situation.” A juror also asked the question, “Did he take away from your person, your being, your spirit?”
“Yes,” she replied. The witness also told jurors that she Epstein was well aware of her age at the time, but did not want to testify against Epstein.
“I would like to put it behind me for the most part,” she said. “I was successful until about two days ago.”
Jury proceedings also revealed that a witness saw Epstein sexually assault a stripper.
“When Jeffrey entered [redacted], did she ask him to stop at all?”
Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, MA on 9/8/04. Epstein is connected with several prominent people including politicians, actors and academics. Epstein was convicted of having sex with an underaged woman. (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
“She screaming no,” the witness replied. The witness also added that he later apologized and offered her a thousand dollars in return.
The documents also mention former President Bill Clinton, who knew Epstein. It was in relation to a girl mentioning the former president on her blog, according to the investigator on the witness stand.
“There is a notion on one of her blogs, that she says she would like to meet Bill Clinton this week, because – and this is in quotes now – ‘Someone could be so famous for sucking his d–k; that’s how famous I could be.’”
She did not accuse the former president of wrongdoing or indicate that she’d actually met him.
Recalled to the stand, Palm Beach Detective Joe Recarey testified that investigators found evidence that one of Epstein’s “assistants,” as his groomers were known, recruited a 23-year-old woman for Epstein, but he turned her away.
“He told her, the younger, the better,” he testified. “She brought a 23-year-old to massage him, and he told her that she was too old and he wanted someone younger.”
Epstein received a lenient punishment of just 13 months for the 2005 child sex case. As a result, a group of accusers in February announced a lawsuit against the FBI, alleging it failed to properly investigate him at the time, allowing him to continue harming children and young women for years.
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Southeast
Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work
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FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said.
Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.
During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said.
Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said. (Getty Images )
“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”
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This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)
Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said.
His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education.
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One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer.
Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE.
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Southeast
High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student
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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).
Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.
GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.
A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)
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Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.
This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.
The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.
Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Federal court clears way for Ten Commandments to be displayed in Louisiana public school classrooms
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A federal appeals court cleared the way Friday for a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, lifting a lower court block and reigniting debate over religion in public education.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit voted 12-6 to lift a block first imposed in 2024, finding it was too early to determine the constitutionality of the law. Critics argue the requirement violates the separation of church and state, while supporters say the Ten Commandments are historical and foundational to U.S. law.
The court said in the majority opinion that it was unclear how schools would display the poster-sized materials, noting that the law allows additional content, like the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence, to appear alongside the Ten Commandments.
The majority wrote that there were not enough facts to “permit judicial judgment rather than speculation” when evaluating potential First Amendment concerns.
A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a lower court block on Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom law, bringing the measure closer to taking effect. (John Bazemore/AP)
In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote that the law was constitutional and “consistent with our founding traditions.”
“It is fully consistent with the Constitution, and what’s more, it reinforces our Founders’ firm belief that the children of America should be educated about the religious foundations and traditions of our country,” Ho said, adding that the law “affirms our Nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”
Circuit Judge James L. Dennis, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote in a dissenting opinion that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms would amount to “exposing children to government‑endorsed religion in a setting of compulsory attendance.”
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A federal appeals court ruling on Feb. 20 allows Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom mandate to proceed for now. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
“That is precisely the kind of establishment the Framers anticipated and sought to prevent,” he added.
The ACLU of Louisiana and other groups representing the plaintiffs said they would pursue additional legal challenges to block the law.
“Today’s ruling is extremely disappointing and would unnecessarily force Louisiana’s public school families into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole in every school district,” the groups wrote in a joint-statement. “Longstanding judicial precedent makes clear that our clients need not submit to the very harms they are seeking to prevent before taking legal action to protect their rights.”
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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised the appeals court decision on Feb. 20 allowing the Ten Commandments classroom law to move forward. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Friday praised the court’s decision, writing on Facebook, “Common sense is making a comeback!”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement following the ruling, saying schools “should follow the law.”
“Don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial. My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law, and we have created multiple examples of posters demonstrating how it can be applied constitutionally,” she said.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said schools should follow the Ten Commandments display law after a federal appeals court lifted a lower court block on Feb. 20. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Joseph Davis, an attorney representing Louisiana in the case, celebrated the court’s decision.
“If the ACLU had its way, every trace of religion would be scrubbed from the fabric of our public life,” he said in a statement. “That position is at odds with our nation’s traditions and our Constitution. We’re glad the Fifth Circuit has allowed Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in its public school classrooms.”
Friday’s ruling came after the full court agreed to reconsider the case, months after a three-judge panel ruled the Louisiana law unconstitutional.
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A similar law in Arkansas faces a federal court challenge, while Texas implemented its own Ten Commandments classroom requirement last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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