On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he will sign legislation allowing grand jury testimony regarding late sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein to be made public.
A grand jury investigation was launched in 2006 after Palm Beach County authorities looked into the allegations of sexual abuse of young girls at Epstein’s mansion.
Epstein was a wealthy resident of Palm Beach. In 2007, prosecutors reached a settlement that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution and enter a guilty plea to two state charges of prostitution, one of which involved obtaining a minor for sexual purposes.
Read: Florida Man Gets 27 Years For Multiple CSAM Charges, $74K In Restitution
This month, the bill (HB 117) introduced by Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R-Highland Beach, and Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, was approved by both the House and the Senate with a unanimous vote.
It would increase the scope of an exemption to a rule that forbids grand juries from disclosing testimony or evidence they have received.
After being detained in July 2019 for federal charges of sex trafficking involving underage girls, Epstein was discovered dead in a New York jail, with the cause of death being ruled as suicide.
Read: Florida Gov. DeSantis To Seek Input On Left Lane Bill
The Palm Beach Post filed a lawsuit in 2016 to get the grand jury records from 2006 unsealed by a judge.
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