Epstein paid Palm Beach deputy to get special treatment in jail, ex-aide says

Sarah Kellen, a longtime personal assistant to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, has disclosed for the first time that Epstein’s preferential treatment at the Palm Beach County jail may have been the result of him paying off Palm Beach sheriff’s deputies.

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Kellen, during her interview with the House Oversight Committee last month, was questioned about perks that Epstein received while he was incarcerated at the Palm Beach County Stockade, a facility where Epstein was jailed from 2008 to 2009. She said she visited Epstein several times at the jail, and one time, when she was home, he was able to use Skype from a jail computer to contact her.

He used that computer to get her to undress for him on camera while he was in the jail, Kellen testified.

She was then asked by Florida Congressman Max Frost, a Democrat who represents the Orlando area, whether she knew of any other “ways” that Epstein was able to receive special treatment in the jail.

“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 replied, according to a transcript of her testimony.

She identified that Palm Beach sheriff’s deputy as Michael Fox.

She was asked how she learned about Fox, and she explained that Epstein’s paralegal, Story Cowles, had complained to her that he had to drive a long distance to personally deliver the cash and tickets from Epstein.

The Miami Herald was unsuccessful in reaching Fox. A spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Fox retired from the agency in 2020.

“The Epstein investigation did not reveal these allegations, and they were never investigated in connection with that case,” said Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Therese Barbera.

She further noted that an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), conducted in 2021, found no wrongdoing by members of the sheriff’s office.

“After an extensive investigation, FDLE determined that there was NO inappropriate or criminal activity on the part of any PBSO member with respect to their participation in Epstein’s work release or the permit detail.”

She added there are no current plans to investigate any other allegations since FDLE’s 2021 probe. “The investigation is complete,” she said.

Allowed to leave jail up to 12 hours a day

Questions have long been raised about how Epstein was able to receive work release — where he could leave the jail for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week, to visit his office — as a known sex predator.

Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who has been the county sheriff for more than 40 years, has said under the work-release requirements at the time, Epstein was eligible for the program.

In an interview with the Herald, former deputy sheriff Michael Gauger, who supervised the jail during Epstein’s tenure, said he had been “concerned” that deputies could be subject to influence by Epstein, who had a history of using his power and money to get what he wanted.

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When told about Kellen’s allegation about Fox, Gauger responded: “I was afraid that that would happen. [Epstein] was so smooth. He was trying to hook me in, and that wasn’t going to happen.”

He added: “It wouldn’t surprise me at all because of how manipulative he was.”

However, he said he wasn’t aware whether Epstein was successful in his efforts.

“If that had come out, he would have been put on isolation and lost his privileges,” Gauger said.

Gauger said the decision to give work release was made on the advice of the sheriff’s office attorneys, who said Epstein’s lawyers would mount a successful lawsuit to obtain work release.

“Our lawyers said, ‘We are going to lose this.’ Our attorneys told Bradshaw we aren’t going to win this,” Gauger said.

Emails contained in the Justice Department’s Epstein files showed that Epstein used his sex therapist, Dr. Stephen Alexander, to reach out to Gauger while he was still serving his sentence in 2009. Under a plea deal his lawyers arranged with federal prosecutors, Epstein pleaded guilty to two solicitation charges in state court and was sentenced to 18 months in the Palm Beach County jail.

In return, he was given federal immunity for his sex-trafficking crimes. He ultimately only served 13 months — most of that time was spent in his West Palm Beach office on work release. He was also assigned to a private wing of the county stockade, not the county’s general jail.

Gauger said Epstein was given gain time, or a reduced sentence, for “good behavior,” and to his knowledge, was not given any special treatment by deputies.

Epstein paid for overtime for some 90 sheriff’s deputies during his work release, totalling about $130,000. Epstein’s business, the Florida Science Foundation, paid the money to PBSO to cover deputies assigned overtime to monitor him during his work release. The deputies were asked to wear suits, and to refer to Epstein as their “client,” PBSO records show.

Gauger said because he was mindful that Epstein was slick, he rotated the jail deputies frequently to prevent any one deputy from being influenced by Epstein.

Sheriff’s official had lunch and dinner with Epstein

Gauger admitted that Epstein was able to persuade him to meet for lunch and come to his mansion for dinner after he was released from jail in July 2009. Epstein was still on house arrest at the time.

Gauger, who was second in command of the department, said he met with Epstein because Epstein claimed he had information about possible improprieties by some of the jail guards. Nothing came of Epstein’s tip, Gauger said, and he could not recall what else they talked about during the meals he shared. The newly released emails show the dinner was in September 2009.

The Herald was unsuccessful in reaching Cowles, who identified himself as Epstein’s para-legal, who visited Epstein more than 100 times when he was in the jail. Cowles was in a romantic relationship with Kellen at the time.

Cowles was hired by Epstein’s criminal defense lawyer Jack Goldberger within days of Epstein pleading guilty in West Palm Beach on June 30, 2008. Court records show he worked solely with Epstein as a conduit for information between Epstein and his attorneys.

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Miami Herald Staff Writer Claire Healy contributed to this story.