Years Before His Arrest, Police Investigated Jeffrey Epstein for ‘Hiring Young Women’ and Asking Masseuse to Strip

On March 14, 2005, a Florida couple walked into the Palm Beach Police Department (PBPD) and told officers they believed their 14-year-old daughter may have had a ****** relationship with an older man living in Palm Beach, according to an incident report.

The parents said they didn’t know the man’s name or address, and they had few details beyond what they’d heard from the mother of one of their daughter’s friends. They also said their daughter wouldn’t confirm anything or discuss what had happened.

That report set off the investigation that eventually led to Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest and conviction. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

But newly released Department of Justice records show investigators had encountered Epstein years earlier—through two separate prior investigations by PBPD.

A 2001 inquiry tied to Ghislaine Maxwell

The first investigation began in December 2001, after the West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD) contacted PBPD’s Organized Crime/Vice and Narcotics Unit. WPBPD reported that Epstein’s top lieutenant, Ghislaine Maxwell, was allegedly recruiting young women from Palm Beach State College to come to a house in Palm Beach and answer phones, according to the case report.

WPBPD said three female students had been approached on campus and allegedly told Maxwell needed “young, beautiful unmarried women” to answer phones and do office work at her home. One student who accepted the $200-a-day offer on multiple occasions said many calls were from men discussing when they would drop off particular girls. Two other students reportedly complained that Epstein touched them inappropriately while they were there.

PBPD attempted to interview the students but struggled to reach most of them, in part because they attended a community college and many lived off campus. A few eventually agreed to speak with investigators. They described nude photographs throughout the home, women topless around the pool, and an overall sense that something “weird” was happening—particularly involving frequent massages. Still, they said they didn’t personally witness illegal conduct.

During the same period, PBPD investigators also conducted trash pulls at Epstein’s home. Over just a few months, they reported finding nude photographs, massage directories, and a list of women titled “People That I Want You To Meet,” including names, ages, descriptions, and notes about what they did.

In April 2002, the investigation was closed after police reported that no illegal activity had been detected.

A 2004 complaint, and more red flags later that year

In March 2004, a female masseuse who had been giving Epstein massages at his home contacted PBPD to file a complaint. She alleged that Epstein had, on multiple occasions, asked her to remove her top or pants—but she refused.

According to the report, police responded the next day at 11 p.m. and said they would follow up later. Five days after that, police left the woman a message. The report notes no additional attempts to contact her.

Five months later, in August 2004, an officer filed a report after a taxi driver flagged him down. The driver said he had just dropped off two white females—who appeared to be around 15 and 17 years old—at Epstein’s residence. The driver also reported overhearing the girls talking about how much money they would make “dating” in Palm Beach.

In November 2004, another report was generated after the property manager for Epstein’s home called police about a suspicious vehicle parked in the driveway. An officer spoke to the woman inside the vehicle, who said she was there to pick up an envelope Epstein had left for her.

The officer reported that Epstein had, in fact, left an envelope. During their interaction, the girl received a call from her mother and said, “I can’t talk, I can’t talk. I’m at school, I gotta go.” She told the officer the envelope contained money for “being a massage therapist,” and also said—“off the record”—that Epstein had many young girls come over for that work, adding that there was always a different young girl with him at the pool or inside the home.

The 2005 investigation expands

No major action followed until March 2005, when police began pulling trash from Epstein’s home again and parked recording-equipped vehicles down the street to monitor activity at the mansion’s entrance.

The report notes that on March 30, 2005, a PBPD detective was investigating Epstein as a suspect in the ***** battery of a 14-year-old girl.

That case was launched by Det. Joseph Recarey with a single potential victim. By August 2006, he had interviewed more than 30 potential victims—most of them minors, according to the report.

In May 2006, Recarey submitted a charging recommendation to prosecutors: four counts of unlawful ***** activity with a minor and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation. If convicted on all counts, Epstein could have faced a sentence of up to 135 years in prison.

Prosecutors ultimately opted to seek a grand jury indictment on a single count of soliciting a prostitute.

Epstein later negotiated the plea deal that drew widespread criticism, serving 13 months in a private jail before being placed on a modified house arrest arrangement that allowed him to travel among properties in New York City, Palm Beach, New Mexico, the Virgin Islands—and even to Paris.