FBI VICTIM IDENTIFICATION PROTOCOL — PALM BEACH INVESTIGATION 2006-2007 — Southern District of Florida
Following the referral of the Epstein case from the Palm Beach Police Department in May 2006, the FBI implemented a systematic victim identification protocol that ultimately expanded the known victim count to 36 confirmed underage individuals — a significant increase from the initial investigation.
INITIAL VICTIM IDENTIFICATION: The Palm Beach Police Department's investigation, led by Detective Joseph Recarey, had identified approximately 40 potential victims through traditional investigative methods. When the FBI assumed federal jurisdiction, agents built upon this foundation by applying additional resources and techniques to broaden the scope of victim identification.
METHODOLOGY: The FBI's victim identification protocol employed multiple investigative approaches:
1. Phone Record Analysis: FBI analysts obtained and analyzed phone records associated with Epstein, his associates, and known victims. By mapping call patterns, agents identified phone numbers that appeared repeatedly in connection with scheduling "massage" appointments. These numbers were traced to individuals who were then contacted for interviews.
2. Financial Transaction Tracing: Agents tracked patterns of cash withdrawals from Epstein's accounts and payments made through associates. Records showed frequent cash withdrawals in amounts consistent with the $200-$300 payments victims reported receiving. By correlating withdrawal dates and amounts with scheduling records, agents built a chronological map of potential abuse events.
3. Victim Referral Chains: A critical element of the identification protocol was interviewing known victims and asking them to identify other young women they had recruited or who they knew had been recruited. This technique was particularly effective because Epstein's operation relied on victims recruiting other victims — each identified victim potentially led to multiple additional identifications.
4. School and Community Outreach: FBI agents conducted discreet outreach in communities near Epstein's Palm Beach residence, particularly at local high schools where several victims had been students. This outreach was conducted carefully to protect victim privacy while maximizing the likelihood of reaching individuals who had not yet come forward.
5. Associate Interviews: Interviews with Epstein's associates — including schedulers, drivers, and household staff — yielded names and descriptions of young women who had visited the residence. These leads were cross-referenced with other data sources to identify and locate potential victims.
VICTIM CONTACT PROCEDURES: The FBI established specific protocols for initial contact with identified potential victims. Agents were trained to approach potential victims with sensitivity, recognizing that many were minors at the time of the abuse and might be reluctant to come forward due to shame, fear, or ongoing psychological trauma. Initial contacts were typically made through a phone call or in-person visit, with agents explaining the nature of the investigation and offering victim services support.
VICTIM SERVICES COORDINATION: The FBI's Victim Services Division assigned victim specialists to the case to provide support throughout the investigative process. These specialists served as liaisons between victims and the investigative team, helped victims access counseling and other support services, and ensured that victims were informed of their rights under the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA).
CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS: The victim identification effort faced significant challenges, including the passage of time since many of the abuse events, the reluctance of some victims to come forward, the mobility of the young women involved (many had moved or changed contact information), and the fact that some victims were not aware that what they had experienced constituted a crime. Additionally, the FBI's identification of 36 victims was understood to represent a minimum count — agents acknowledged that the true number of victims was likely significantly higher.
CVRA VIOLATIONS: The identified victims were not notified of the Non-Prosecution Agreement negotiations as required by the Crime Victims' Rights Act. This failure formed the basis of the landmark 2019 ruling by Judge Kenneth Marra, who found that prosecutors had violated the CVRA by secretly negotiating the plea deal without informing or consulting the victims. The FBI's victim identification records were central evidence in this proceeding.