Jeffrey Epstein's controversial 2008 plea deal for charges including soliciting a minor for prostitution has long drawn scrutiny, and newly released details are raising further questions about the months he spent on work release from a Florida jail.

Epstein pleaded guilty and surrendered to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office in July 2008. Dozens of accusers from several states, many underage at the time of the alleged crimes, had been prepared to testify against him on federal sex trafficking charges, but the case was shelved in exchange for his agreement to plea to lesser state charges in Florida. Many survivors of Epstein's crimes and other critics of the plea agreement have called it a "sweetheart deal."


According to documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, his SUV used for these trips was outfitted with a bed. An account given to the FBI by one woman included the claim that Epstein engaged in sexual activity with her in the vehicle — while it was parked in the jail lot.

The woman told the FBI she was a former model from Slovakia who Epstein had first met when she was a teenager and still in high school. She told agents she was recruited from Slovakia by Epstein's friend and business associate Jean-Luc Brunel during her senior year to move to New York City and pursue a career in modeling. She met Epstein at Brunel's birthday party at the New York City restaurant Cipriani in 2003.