Survivors, witnesses and lawmakers expected to testify at PBC Epstein hearing

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https://cbs12.com/news/local/survivors- ... ert-garcia

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Members of Congress, survivors, and witnesses are expected to gather in Palm Beach County on Tuesday for a field hearing tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

The hearing, organized by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee and led by Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia, is expected to focus on how Epstein was able to secure a controversial plea deal years ago in Palm Beach County — a deal critics say allowed him to continue abusing young girls.

Epstein eventually pleaded guilty to state prostitution-related charges in a secret deal that shut down a wider federal investigation. During his 13-month sentence in the Palm Beach County jail, he was granted work-release privileges that allowed him to leave jail for hours at a time, despite allegations involving underage girls.

Palm Beach County is where many of the allegations against Epstein first came to light and where prosecutors reached the non-prosecution agreement that has faced years of criticism.

South Florida Congresswoman Lois Frankel spoke ahead of the hearing, criticizing how the case was handled locally years ago.

“For some reason, they allowed a predator to go loose for many, many years,” Frankel said.