EFTA00211117.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Southern District of Florida 500 S Australian Avenue, Suite 400 West Palm Beach, FL 3340! (561) 820-8711- Telephone (561) 820-8777 - Facsimile July 2016 VIA HAND DELIVERY Ms. Courtney Wild do Brad Edwards, Esq. Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos & Lehrman, P.L. 425 North Andrews Avenue, Suite 2 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 Re: Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 I. United States, Case No. 08-80736-Civ-Marra (S.D. Fla.) Dear Ms. Wild: Although I was not the U.S. Attorney at the time of the events addressed in this letter, I write on behalf of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida (the "Office") to express my sincere regret that you feel that the Office did not adequately confer with you prior to entering into a Non-Prosecution Agreement ("NPA") with Jeffrey Epstein and did not treat you fairly during the course of the Epstein investigation. As you know, the Crime Victims' Rights Act ("CVRA") in effect at the time of the Epstein investigation did not require Assistant U.S. Attorneys to confer with victims prior to entering into a deferred prosecution or non- prosecution agreement like the NPA. While your desire to see Epstein prosecuted was brought to the Office's attention and it was considered by those handling the negotiations, we acknowledge that the Office did not inform you that negotiations with Epstein's counsel were underway until after the NPA was signed. As I know you have been made aware, the Office had legal and factual reasons for the manner in which it communicated information about the NPA, but regardless of the legal defensibility of those actions under the CVRA, we regret that the Office did not inform you about the NPA before it was signed and that the Office acted in any manner that made you feel you were not being treated with fairness and with respect. I admire your interest in seeking to ensure that all victims are treated fairly. Our Office now has an Assistant United States Attorney who serves as the Office's internal Victims' Rights Contact, as well as a robust victim notification system overseen by a Victim Witness Coordinator and six additional staff members, three of whom are dedicated to ensuring that notices are properly delivered to victims. Our Office also currently trains prosecutors who work on child exploitation matters to utilize a victim-centered approach. I personally encourage all members of the Office to go above and beyond the statutory minimum requirements for conferring with and notifying victims. The Justice Department mandates victim rights training for all new criminal EFTA00211117 MS. COURTNEY WILD JULY 2016 PAGE 2 OF 2 prosecutors, and refresher training is also provided via the Department's online distance learning program, during various training programs at the Department's National Advocacy Center in South Carolina, and locally by our Office. Both our Office and the Department of Justice mandate compliance with the Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance and the CVRA. Failure to adhere to those Guidelines or the CVRA can result in disciplinary action. I understand that you will be participating in a video-taped session of the Department's victim rights training, and I welcome your input. I also look forward to meeting with you again to discuss this case. Sincerely yours, Wifredo A. Ferrer United States Attorney cc: Dexter Lee, Esq. EFTA00211118