New testimony from Jeffrey Epstein's longtime assistant has renewed questions about the privileges the convicted sex offender received while serving his sentence in a Palm Beach County jail, years after investigations into his treatment concluded without findings of wrongdoing.
Sarah Kellen, who worked closely with Epstein for years, told the House Oversight Committee last month that Epstein arranged for cash and Disneyland tickets to be delivered to a Palm Beach sheriff's deputy while he was incarcerated at the Palm Beach County Stockade between 2008 and 2009.
"I know that he arranged to have cash and, like, Disneyland tickets, taken to one of the officers in the jail and I'm not sure what he received with that," Kellen testified, according to a transcript reviewed by the Miami Herald. She identified the deputy as Michael Fox, who has since retired from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
Kellen also testified that Epstein used a jail computer to contact her through Skype and persuaded her to undress on camera while he was serving his sentence. She said she learned about the alleged payments through Epstein's paralegal, Story Cowles, who complained about having to personally deliver the cash and tickets.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said the allegations were not uncovered during previous investigations. Spokeswoman Therese Barbera said a 2021 probe by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found "no inappropriate or criminal activity" involving sheriff's office personnel connected to Epstein's work-release program and that the investigation is considered closed.
Questions about Epstein's treatment in custody have persisted for years. After pleading guilty in 2008 to state solicitation charges under a controversial plea agreement, Epstein was allowed to leave jail for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week, on work release. He ultimately served 13 months of an 18-month sentence and spent much of that time working from his West Palm Beach office.
The renewed scrutiny comes the same day as The New York Times published a detailed review of Epstein's 2019 death in federal custody.
Drawing on newly released documents, jail records and interviews, the newspaper reported finding extensive evidence that Epstein had repeatedly discussed suicide, may have attempted it multiple times before his death and was left alone despite warnings about his mental state.
The report concluded that while some questions remain unresolved, investigators found no evidence of a coordinated plot to kill him.
