i. tic i cuiii aCctlA I rust. DOUG FRANKLIN. Pithhater JOHN BARTOSEK Maar CHARLES GERARDL Gana! Mane. BILL ROSE. Memory Editor RANDY SCHULTZ. niter oldie Editorial Pate JAN TUCKWOOR Associate Ease BARRY BERG. VP eirodation LARRY SIEDLIK VP& Thrower JOHN KELLY. VP Advertising GALE HOWDEN. VP Community &Lotions and Marketing LINDA MURPHY. VP &Non Rnewra BOB BALFE. VP Operatsons LIM BURKE, VP Digital Mahe (AURA DECK CUNNINGHAM. Director. Markehog Sawn Rich man fought the law and he mostly won t s a: a. Srcy st "OPP:!, wag t Io a;q :umpe uo se -p ;nal •tioxx:;; . Two years after a grand jury indicted him on a felony charge of solicitation of prostitution, Jeffrey Epstein finally admitted that he lured a teenage girl to his $8.5 mil- lion, 13,000-square-foot Palm Beach mansion for sex. A week ago, the 55-yearold investment banker be- gan serving 18 months in jail. But that plea deal — guilty of felony solicitation of prostitution and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution — does not account for all five of the girls, one as young as 14, who alleged that Epstein sexually abused them. And why is Epstein serving his term in the overcrowded Palm Beach County Jail and not a state prison, where inmates are sent if their sentences are longer than one year? The slow, dissatisfy- ing resolution of the case sends a message to the public that there's a dif- ferent system of justice for the wealthy who hire high-powered lawyers. Epstein% legal team includ- ed West Palm Beach defense attor- ney Jack Goldberger, Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz, who defended 04. Simpson against murder charges, and Kenneth Starr, the pprosecutor who pursued then-President Bill Clinton for lying about sex with young women. Palm Beach police spent 11 months investigating Epstein be- fore State Attorney Barry Krischer sent the case to a grand jury,. in- stead of charging Epstein so the man who once boasted of accepting only billionaire clients could face a trial. The police had taken a high school transcript, class schedules and phone messages from Epstein% Why is Jeffrey Epstein in jail, and not prison? home that showed he knew the girls were underage. Yet Mr. Krischer was more swayed by Epstein's law- yers, who attempted to impugn the girls' character by showing they had chatted on myspacecom about smoking marijuana and drinking. He should have let a jury decide whether the victims — and Epstein — were credible. Ultimately, one charge against Epstein finally reflected the age of one victim, and the plea agreement left Epstein labeled a sex of- fender. With that additional charge, if Epstein had been convicted at a trial, he could have been sentenced to anything from probation to 15 years in prison, Assis- tant State Attorney Lana Belohlavek said, adding that the recommended guideline sentence was 21 months. Epstein also won't have to cer- tify to the court that he is receiv- ing counseling, typically required of sex offenders, because he has a private psychiatrist. But without court supervision, who will ensure Epstein is in fact being treated? The plea deal also drops a federal investigation of Epstein. If a federal investigation was warranted, how does dropping it before completion benefit the public? Epstein preyed on girls and de- nied it For three years, his wealth and the influence of his lawyers bought him the protection the state attorney owed to the victims. 0. .1 1 • EFTA00215711