Jeffrey Epstein's case: the 2005 investigation, 2008 non-prosecution deal, 2019 arrest and death, and Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction Case Jeffrey Epstein was investigated by Palm Beach police from 2005 and by the FBI from 2006, but a 2007 non-prosecution agreement led to a 2008 Florida state guilty plea and a sentence of 18 months, of which he served under 13 with work release. New York federal prosecutors arrested him in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges; he was found dead in his cell on Aug. 10, 2019, in what was ruled a suicide. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in June 2022. In January 2026 DOJ released more than 3 million pages of its files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Investigation and the 2008 deal (2005-2009) Palm Beach police opened an investigation in 2005 after the parents of a 14-year-old girl reported abuse; the FBI opened a federal investigation in July 2006 and identified 36 girls who were minors at the time, and federal prosecutors drafted a 60-count indictment in May 2007. In September 2007, U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta signed a non-prosecution agreement granting immunity to Epstein, four named co-conspirators and 'any potential co-conspirators.' A later DOJ court filing describes the agreement: Epstein would plead guilty in Florida state court to soliciting minors for prostitution and serve eighteen months in county jail, and in exchange the U.S. Attorney's Office would not bring federal charges in the Southern District of Florida arising from its investigation. Epstein pleaded guilty to two state charges in 2008 and was sentenced to 18 months with work release; he served under 13 months, was released in 2009, and had to register as a sex offender. On Feb. 21, 2019, a federal judge ruled the 2008 deal illegal because victims were not consulted, violating the Crime Victims' Rights Act. 2019 arrest and death The Miami Herald's reporting in November 2018 renewed public attention, and New York federal prosecutors concluded the earlier agreement did not bind them; Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and pleaded not guilty on July 8, facing up to 45 years. On Aug. 10, 2019, Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York and pronounced dead at age 66; investigators ruled it a suicide by hanging. Ghislaine Maxwell Federal prosecutors in New York charged Maxwell in July 2020 with helping recruit underage girls whom she and Epstein abused; a jury convicted her in December 2021 of sex trafficking, conspiracy and transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity. On June 28, 2022, Judge Alison J. Nathan sentenced Maxwell to 240 months in prison for her role in the scheme to exploit and abuse minors. The files (2025-2026) The Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed Nov. 19, 2025; on Jan. 30, 2026 DOJ released more than 3 million pages, and by Feb. 2026 it had released about 3.5 million of roughly 6 million pages it identified as responsive, including about 180,000 images and 2,000 videos, organized in 12 data sets. Research notes Open leads: (1) Replace the secondary timelines with primary documents: the 2007 non-prosecution agreement itself, the Feb. 21, 2019 Crime Victims' Rights Act ruling, and the Manhattan medical examiner's ruling on Epstein's death. (2) Sources disagree on the length served in 2008-09 (about 13 months per Global News and Al Jazeera, against an 18-month sentence); use the court record. (3) How the files were handled after release is in the DOJ/FBI handling entry; Trump's ties to Epstein are in a separate entry. (4) Do not list unproven accusations against named individuals here. (5) Maxwell's later prison transfer and DOJ's interview of her are not covered; source them before adding. Note Official findings call Epstein's death a suicide, but public doubts about the death and about the leniency of the 2008 deal persist; the deal was later ruled to have violated victims' rights. Sources [1] U.S. Attorney's Office, SDNY — Ghislaine Maxwell Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Conspiring With Jeffrey Epstein To Sexually Abuse Minors (https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced-20-years-prison-conspiring-jeffrey-epstein-sexually-abuse) · 2022-06-28 [2] DOJ court record — United States v. Maxwell, No. 1:20-cr-00330 (S.D.N.Y.), Dkt. 207 (https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/United%20States%20v.%20Maxwell,%20No.%20120-cr-00330%20(S.D.N.Y.%202020)/207.pdf) [3] Al Jazeera — Struggling to navigate the Epstein files? Here is a visual guide (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/struggling-to-navigate-the-epstein-files-here-is-a-visual-guide) · 2026-02-10 [4] Global News — Jeffrey Epstein case timeline (https://globalnews.ca/news/5750853/jeffrey-epstein-case-timeline) · 2019-08 Connections Related — DOJ/FBI handling of the Epstein files The DOJ entry covers how the Epstein files have been handled since 2025; this entry covers the underlying case. Related — Trump and Epstein: what the record documents about their relationship, and what remains unverified (1990s-2026) The Trump entry covers his documented ties to Epstein; this entry covers Epstein's own prosecution and case history.