The Triggering Complaint
In early 2005, the mother of a 14-year-old girl reported to the Palm Beach Police that her daughter had visited Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion and been paid for a “massage” that became sexual. Detective Joseph Recarey was assigned to investigate.
The Investigation Expands
What began as a single complaint became one of the most thorough sex crime investigations Palm Beach had seen:
- Recarey identified additional victims through referrals from initial complainants
- A total of over 36 victims were ultimately identified
- Victims ranged in age from 13 to late teens
- All followed similar recruitment patterns: approached by an intermediary, invited to Epstein’s Palm Beach home, paid, sexually abused
Physical Evidence
In October 2005, officers executed a search warrant at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence (358 El Brillo Way). The search produced:
- Photographs
- Phone records
- Evidence consistent with victim accounts
The Referral to State Prosecution
The Palm Beach PD referred the case to Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer in 2006. Krischer’s office’s initial response was viewed as insufficient by Recarey and Chief Reiter.
The FBI Escalation
In April 2006, Chief Reiter personally referred the case to the FBI’s Miami office, bypassing the state prosecution. This referral kept the federal investigation alive through the period when state prosecution appeared stalled.
The Case’s Legacy
The Palm Beach investigation’s documentationvictim accounts, physical evidence, the pattern analysisformed the core of both the 2008 federal NPA and the 2019 SDNY indictment. Without Recarey’s meticulous work, the federal cases would have had a weaker foundation.