New York federal prosecutors said Monday they were not bound by an earlier agreement in Florida not to pursue sexual abuse charges against wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who has now been charged with allegedly exploiting dozens of underage girls at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York said the decade-old nonprosecution agreement between Epstein and Florida federal prosecutors did not affect his office's ability to indict Epstein Monday morning on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy.

“That agreement only binds, by its terms … the Southern District of Florida. The Southern District of New York is not bound by that agreement, and is not a signatory to that agreement,” Berman said at a press conference, shortly after the 13-page indictment was unsealed in Manhattan federal court.

According to Southern District prosecutors, Epstein paid girls as young as 14 years old from 2002 to 2005 to perform nude or seminude massages, which became “increasingly sexual” in nature, with Epstein typically masturbating and molesting his victims.

Berman said Epstein would also pay some victims “hundreds of dollars” to recruit other young girls to the network, allowing Epstein to create “an ever-expanding web of new victims.”

Epstein pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday.

The indictment, however, was not the first time that Epstein, who is known for his connections with powerful figures across the political spectrum, has come under scrutiny for alleged sexual misconduct against minors.

In 2007, Epstein signed a secret agreement with federal prosecutors in Miami, which shielded him and his alleged accomplices from federal prosecution in a case alleging that they had run a child sex ring out of Epstein's Palm Beach mansion between 1999 and 2007.

In exchange for the deal, Epstein pleaded guilty to two state prostitution charges, and served 13 months in Palm Beach County jail, where he had work-release privileges and was allowed to continue managing money during the day. Epstein faced a possible life sentence, and his alleged co-conspirators were never charged.

Earlier this year, a Florida federal judge ruled that prosecutors, including former Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta—now U.S. Labor Secretary—broke federal law by keeping the agreement secret from Epstein's alleged victims. The Justice Department has opened an investigation into prosecutor's handling of the plea deal, after a series of articles by the Miami Herald drew renewed attention to the case.

Charles Ross, a partner with Mintz & Gold in Manhattan, said Epstein's defense team would likely point to the nonprosecution agreement to argue that Berman was barred from bringing the case in the Southern District of New York.

That position, he said, could hinge on the underlying agreement and covers certain acts or types of crimes, and attorneys from both sides would be sure to pour over the language with a “fine-tooth comb.”

“The play that Epstein's defense lawyers would have is the breadth that the those nonprosecution agreements confer,” said Ross, who maintained his own law offices in New York and Florida before joining Mintz & Gold.

“Typically, nonprosecution agreements are limited to the jurisdiction which grants them and writes them, and that's certainly the position of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York,” he said.

Prosecutors in New York have alleged a conspiracy that included unnamed employees setting up “appointments” with underage girls on Epstein's behalf. One person in New York, identified in the indictment as Employee-2, would call victims before Epstein traveled to Florida to make sure the encounters were set up when he arrived, the filing alleged.

Ross said the conspiracy count allowed the Southern District to reach acts outside of Manhattan, and contacts between alleged co-conspirators in New York and victims in Florida would help prosecutors make their case for jurisdiction.

“Certainly, the Southern District of New York can reach acts outside of the Southern District of New York. What they need is acts that take place within the the Southern District,” he said.

Epstein was taken into custody July 6 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after arriving on his private jet from Paris. His arrest followed an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the public-corruption unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office, along with the New York City Police Department.

Berman declined to comment further on Monday about the involvement of the public-corruption unit, and said he would not discuss “speculation” regarding high-profile people associated with Epstein.

Epstein is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where he was ordered to remain Monday ahead of a bail hearing scheduled for Thursday.

The case has been assigned to Judge Richard M. Berman of the Southern District of New York.

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