Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) notes newly released by the Justice Department depict disturbing and explicit descriptions of Jeffrey Epstein’s demands for the procurement of underage girls, including efforts to verify ages and racially specific preferences for recruits, according to the documents and recent reporting on the files.[2][1]

What the files show

The records, released through the Department of Justice’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process, include interview notes from witnesses who described Epstein asking to see a girl’s identification to confirm she was under 18 and expressing frustration when girls brought to him appeared older, according to reporting summarizing the files.[1][2]

One witness told investigators that Epstein instructed associates to continue looking for girls and that he described specific preferences for the girls’ ages, complexions and nationalities, reportedly saying he “didn’t want Spanish or dark girls” and that he wanted the girls to be ‘‘young’’—language that investigators captured in contemporaneous notes.[1][2]

Allegations of sexual contact and recruitment tactics

The interview notes further allege instances of sexual touching during encounters arranged by Epstein and describe interactions in which girls were topless and subjected to unwanted contact; the witness reportedly grew emotional during the interview and was unable to provide additional details at the time, according to the released material.[1][2]

Documents in the FOIA release also reference images and other material connected to Epstein’s activities and include descriptions of how people in his network procured and presented girls to him for sexual encounters, as well as commentary on his use of pay or direction to have others continue searching for recruits.[2]

Context and significance

The files are part of a larger trove of records the Justice Department has previously released in response to public and media requests about Epstein’s activities and the government’s handling of investigations into his conduct.[2]

Reporting based on the newly released documents highlights how witnesses described efforts to confirm girls’ ages and how Epstein’s alleged preferences included racial descriptors—details that prosecutors and advocates say are important for understanding the scope and character of his trafficking network and the harms inflicted on victims.[1]

Responses and next steps

The Department of Justice made the FOIA release available to the public and posted the documents online as part of its transparency obligations; journalists and victim advocates have used the files to piece together additional details about the operations described in earlier court filings and reporting.[2]

News organizations that reviewed and summarized the records noted the graphic and disturbing nature of some descriptions and emphasized that the newly revealed material does not stand alone but adds to a broader factual record established in prior cases and reporting about Epstein’s conduct and the network that enabled it.[1]

What remains unclear

The FOIA records released include interview notes and other investigative materials but are heavily redacted in places, and not all names, dates and identifying details are publicly available in unredacted form.[2] As with prior document releases, the newly available pages require careful review by journalists and investigators to fully corroborate eyewitness accounts and to place them alongside evidence that was used in prosecutions or civil proceedings.

Survivors and legal legacy

Victims and advocates have said that ongoing releases of documents help clarify the scope of abuse and the practices that enabled trafficking, though they also stress that public disclosure cannot undo the harms experienced by survivors and that legal accountability has been limited by Epstein’s death and by prior plea agreements in related matters.[1][2]