Who Is Barry Krischer?
Barry Krischer served as Palm Beach County State Attorney from 1992 to 2008. He was a long-serving prosecutor with an established record on violent crime cases. His handling of the Epstein case became his most controversial legacy.
The Initial Referral
When Palm Beach Police submitted their completed investigative file in 2006documenting 36+ victims and a systematic trafficking operationKrischer’s office began reviewing the case.
The Charging Decision
Rather than pursuing sex trafficking, multiple rape charges, or other felonies consistent with the evidence, Krischer’s office presented a grand jury with a single second-degree felony charge: solicitation of prostitution. The grand jury returned the indictment.
The Reaction
Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter was alarmed enough by this outcome that he took the extraordinary step of publicly writing to Krischer in 2006, calling the single charge a misrepresentation of the evidence his department had gathered. Reiter then referred the case to the FBI.
Krischer’s Explanation
Krischer has stated that his office acted appropriately given the evidence available and that he was unaware of the full federal picture until later. He has denied acting improperly. Critics find this explanation implausible given the size of the investigative file.
Legacy
Krischer’s handling of the Epstein case is studied as an example of prosecutorial discretion being used in ways that perpetuate harm to victims. The contrast between his single-charge approach and the comprehensive federal charges available illuminates the systemic failures that allowed Epstein to escape meaningful accountability for years.