The Investigation
Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown spent approximately two years investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s original prosecution and the 2008 non-prosecution agreement. The investigation involved:
- Interviewing more than 80 women about their experiences
- Obtaining and analyzing court documents
- Researching the decision-making behind the NPA
- Documenting the victim notification failures
The November 2018 Series
Brown’s investigative series ‘Perversion of Justice’ was published in the Miami Herald in November 2018. The series documented:
- The scope of Epstein’s operations
- The extraordinary terms of the NPA
- The secret negotiation that excluded victims
- The work release arrangement
The Legal Impact
The series reinvigorated legal scrutiny. Civil litigation over the NPA’s legality recovered momentum. The SDNY reopened its investigation. FBI agents reviewed evidence.
The July 2019 Effect
The Herald investigation contributed directly to the conditions that led to the July 2019 SDNY re-arrest. The public attention and legal scrutiny the series generated made inaction increasingly difficult for federal authorities.
Journalism Awards
Julie K. Brown received multiple journalism awards for the investigation. The series has been cited as one of the most significant pieces of investigative journalism of the 2010s.