Background
Julie K. Brown is an investigative reporter for the Miami Herald who covers social justice issues, criminal justice, and Florida politics. She has been with the paper for over two decades and has won numerous regional and national awards for accountability journalism. Before undertaking the Epstein investigation, she was known for investigative work on Florida’s foster care system, the opioid crisis, and public corruption. Her background in social-justice journalism—and her familiarity with how powerful institutions can suppress accountability—shaped the methodological approach she brought to the Epstein case.
Roots of the Investigation
Brown began investigating Epstein in 2017, when the details of the 2008 non-prosecution agreement attracted renewed attention following widespread media coverage of Harvey Weinstein. Brown sought out and interviewed women who had been victimized as teenagers, spending months building trust before any of them agreed to be identified. She combed through thousands of pages of court records, many of which had been sealed, and worked with the Herald’s legal team to pursue unsealing motions. The investigation required two years of sustained effort before the first stories were published.
”Perversion of Justice” Series
The series launched in November 2018 with a front-page package that named Epstein as a serial predator who had been protected from serious prosecution by a secret deal with federal prosecutors. Subsequent installments named co-conspirators, detailed the mechanics of victim recruitment, analyzed the legal structure of the NPA, and quoted multiple women—including Michelle Licata, Courtney Wild, and others—who spoke on the record about their experiences. The series created an immediate national news cycle and congressional demands for investigation.
Book and Documentary
In 2021, Brown published Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story through Dey Street Books, expanding the investigation with new material and context unavailable at the time of the original reporting. The book became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted as a documentary series for HBO Max. The documentary included original footage and interviews that provided visual narrative to the story Brown had reported in print.
Awards and Legacy
The Herald series received the George Polk Award, the Selden Ring Award, and multiple other honors. Brown was recognized by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma for her sensitive handling of survivor accounts. Her work is widely credited as the proximate cause of Epstein’s 2019 re-arrest by federal authorities in New York—the investigation by the Southern District of New York was reportedly well advanced at the time of the Herald series, but the political and public pressure generated by her reporting accelerated the timeline to indictment. Brown continues to report on follow-up dimensions of the Epstein case.