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Epstein NPA Invalidated Due to Prosecutorial Violation

By George Khoury, Esq. on February 22, 2019 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Big headlines have been making the rounds about Jeffrey Epstein's non-prosecution agreement being invalidated by the federal district court in the Southern District of Florida.

In short, the agreement was reached in violation of the Crime Victims' Rights Act, which required federal prosecutors to inform victims of their rights before entering into a non-prosecution agreement with a suspect.

Epstein's NPA

The work of Epstein's lawyers to corner the federal prosecutors into a non-prosecution agreement that kept Epstein's conduct out of the media's eyes seems to be what undid the whole deal. And it's rather surprising, given the extent and gravity of his conduct, that federal prosecutors were willing to be so accommodating. After all, federal prosecutors had a list of approximately 40 minor victims that Epstein had paid to have some sort of sexual interaction with him.

All along the way, while negotiating the terms of the NPA, his attorneys pleaded and practically begged for the victims to be kept in the dark about the negotiations and terms. As part of the deal, his attorneys were pushing for a compensation fund to be set up for victims that would not contest liability or damages, but would require a waiver of all other rights.

As the federal district court explained, with painstakingly factual details about the dealings of the attorneys, the prosecutors violated their duties under the CVRA by going along with defense counsels' requests to not notify victims of the non-prosecution agreement. The court went on to explain that invalidating the NPA is an appropriate remedy.

What this means for Epstein is still up in the air.

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