The committee stated in a press release, “Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform released 33,295 pages of records related to Epstein, which were provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.” In 2019, U.S. prosecutors charged Epstein with trafficking minors for sexual exploitation, a crime punishable by up to 40 years in prison, along with conspiracy to engage in this trafficking, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
According to prosecutors, between 2002 and 2005, Epstein had sexual relations with dozens of underage girls whom he hosted at his homes in New York and Florida. He would pay them hundreds of dollars in cash and then ask some of the victims to work as recruiters to bring in more girls, some as young as 14 years old.
In early July 2019, the Manhattan Court in New York City decided, after an initial hearing for Epstein, to keep him in custody and not release him on bail. Later in July of the same year, Epstein was reportedly found “partially unconscious” in his cell, and he later died, with the investigation revealing it was a suicide.
