The Palm Beach estate at 358 El Brillo Way served as Jeffrey Epstein's primary residence in Florida and was the central site of the 2005-2006 Palm Beach Police Department investigation that first exposed his systematic sexual abuse of underage girls. The waterfront mansion, where Epstein's house manager Juan Alessi testified he saw "a hundred, two hundred different massage therapists" over eleven years, became ground zero for the largest sex crimes investigation in Palm Beach history. Court documents describe how victims as young as 14 were brought to the property, escorted upstairs to massage rooms by Sarah Kellen and others, and sexually abused by Epstein in what prosecutors characterized as a systematic trafficking operation. The property's layout—with staff quarters separated from Epstein's private wing, multiple massage tables throughout, and locked double doors sealing off the upstairs quarters—physically enabled the abuse to occur behind closed doors while household staff cleaned, cooked, and maintained the estate.
Property History and Description#
Epstein owned the estate at 358 El Brillo Way in Palm Beach, Florida, located at the end of El Brillo Way on the left-hand side facing the water. House manager Juan Alessi, who worked full-time for Epstein from January 1, 1991 through December 31, 2002 (with part-time work prior to 1991), described the property as a "multi-story private residence" where he served as major domo, butler, driver, and house manager, overseeing his wife, cleaning crews, gardeners, and pool maintenance staff.
The estate underwent significant construction during Epstein's ownership. Alessi testified that a new guest quarters building was constructed in 2001. Prior to that construction, staff lived in an apartment "upstairs in their house, in the main house," in "little rooms upstairs across from his master bedroom." After 2001, the staff quarters were "separate" from the main house, containing "laundry and a little office and the bedroom."
The main house featured Epstein's private quarters upstairs, accessed through double doors that created a sealed corridor. Alessi described how "his quarters, it had a double door, so it was a door on top of the stairs...and then there's another door going into his room. So it was a long corridor. So everything was closed and nobody saw anything." Epstein's bedroom included "a wraparound balcony facing the pool," and both his bathroom and Ghislaine Maxwell's bathroom contained areas where massages took place.
Multiple massage tables were stationed throughout the property. Alessi testified: "We had a table in every room of the house, the massage tables, for the different guests. Because not only he got massages, all the other guests got massages too. So we have a table massage table in basically every room, guest room."
When Epstein was in residence, the demands on household operations were extreme. Alessi testified that "when he was in town, it was just us doing the cleaning and the cooking, the driving, shopping, everything else," working from "5 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock at night. Constantly on your feet." The estate maintained an apartment for staff at Tower 1515 on Flagler, but when Epstein was present, "the job was just too much to go home 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock and come back 5 o'clock in the morning. We would just stay and sleep and get up and work."
The 2005-2006 Palm Beach Police Investigation#
The Palm Beach Police Department investigation began on October 5, 2003, as documented in case number 1-03-001498, with an incident report listing the location as "358 EL BRILLO WY, PALM BEACH, FL." However, the investigation intensified in March 2005 when parents of a 14-year-old girl reported that Epstein had paid their daughter for a massage. Palm Beach Police Detective Joe Recarey became the lead investigator, ultimately identifying dozens of victims.
The investigation revealed a systematic pattern of abuse operating out of the Palm Beach mansion. In sworn testimony to Detective Recarey on November 21, 2005, house manager Juan Alessi described a daily operation centered on "massages." When asked how many massages Epstein would have in a day, Alessi responded: "Sometimes one, sometimes two, three." Asked if he saw many massage therapists over his eleven years of employment, Alessi testified: "Yes. During eleven years, I probably saw a hundred, two hundred different massage therapists."
Critically, Alessi observed that some appeared underage. When asked "Did they seem young to you?" Alessi testified: "No, sir. Mostly no. We saw one or two young ones in the last year. Before that, it was all adults." Pressed on what "young" meant, Alessi stated: "I remember one girl was young. We never asked how old she was. It was not in my job...But I imagine she was 16, 17. In my judgment, she was 16, 17."
The massages took place in private areas where staff could not observe. Alessi testified: "All the time it was in his room. Sometimes it was in the balcony of his quarters...So the massages were in the balcony outside in the sun, or inside in his bathroom or her bathroom." When asked if it appeared more than just massage occurred, Alessi responded: "I just imagine. I never saw anything. But I imagine there was more than—I never saw anything because it was closed doors. It was never done outside."
Physical evidence suggested sexual activity accompanied the "massages." Alessi testified about cleanup duties: "At the end, it was a few times that the bed was undone. You know, we make the beds three or four times a day. And sometimes we went to clean up the massage to put it back, the massage table, to pick up the towels, but the bed was undone again." When asked if any massagers "look like sex toys," Alessi testified: "At the end, at the last year that we were there they had like sex toys, some of them. I can say maybe three or four occasions that I saw in the sink, they were left out on the sink."
The estate maintained extensive supplies for these activities. Alessi testified: "We had gallons of stuff, different stuff. Different massage oils...Different, all kinds." When asked where these items were kept, Alessi stated: "we keep all the stuff in a basket inside Ms. Maxwell's closet. It was a big basket, about this round (indicating), with a cover on it."
Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter led the investigation with determination that would later be documented as exceptional. In a May 1, 2006 letter to State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chief Reiter transmitted "the probable cause affidavits and case filing packages thus far resulting from the Palm Beach Police Department's investigation into the conduct of Jeffrey Epstein." After the State Attorney's office secured only a limited grand jury indictment, Chief Reiter and Detective Recarey referred the case to the FBI for federal investigation, leading to the multi-year federal probe that ultimately resulted in the controversial 2007 Non-Prosecution Agreement.
Staff and Operations#
The Palm Beach estate operated with a hierarchical staff structure designed to maintain Epstein's privacy and comfort. Juan Alessi testified that he "started full-time with him on January 1, 1991" and worked through "December 31, 2002," exactly eleven years. His wife joined later and worked for eight years. Alessi's role encompassed "houseman," "major domo and butler and everything else, driver, and did everything."
The staffing expanded in Epstein's final years of Alessi's employment. Alessi testified: "At the last year he had an assistant just for him. They would travel with him all the time. At the last—in the last two years of my stay there, he also have a chef, a gourmet chef that he would travel with him." Chefs included Adam Perry from New York, a French chef named Didier, and others who "went quickly."
The most significant staff member for coordinating activities at the mansion was Annie Taylor, described as "an English girl that would travel with him a lot, and became the personal assistant." However, Alessi testified that "most of the time it was Ms. Maxwell that traveled with him all the time." When asked about Maxwell's role, Alessi stated: "Girlfriend, whatever it was. Boss, girlfriend. She was our immediate superior."
Ghislaine Maxwell managed operations across Epstein's multiple properties. Alessi testified: "she was the manager of all the households, because he has homes all over the world. So we have she was my boss, and I deal directly with her." Maxwell would inform staff when Epstein was arriving: "she would inform you that they were coming down...Make arrangements to have the house ready."
The estate maintained strict operational protocols, particularly regarding access when Epstein was present. Alessi testified: "he did not allow anybody at the house except us when he was in town. So when he was in town, it was just us doing the cleaning and the cooking, the driving, shopping, everything else." During absences, cleaning crews came "twice a week or once a week, then it was twice a week. Depends upon his schedule."
The demanding nature of the work took a severe toll on staff. Alessi testified: "It was an incredible hard job. So demanding. Hours were terrible, from 5 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock at night. Constantly on your feet. I got very sick. My health went down the drain. I was diagnosed with cancer, polycythemia, a kind of blood cancer, and we had to leave. It was just too much for me."
Sarah Kellen played a key coordination role at the Palm Beach property. For detailed documentation of her operational activities, phone records, and victim testimony, see Sarah Kellen.
Lesley Groff, Epstein's longtime executive assistant based in New York, coordinated travel and logistics for the Palm Beach property remotely. The archive documents her arranging flights, scheduling appointments, and managing household staff operations across Epstein's properties, including Palm Beach.
Documented Visitors and Criminal Activity#
Jmail believes society has a moral obligation to fully investigate all potential perpetrators in Epstein's extensive network.
The Palm Beach estate served as the primary location where Epstein sexually abused dozens of underage girls between approximately 1998 and 2005. The 2019 federal indictment identified the property as one of two primary abuse locations, alleging Epstein "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations."
Victim Accounts from Civil Litigation
Multiple civil complaints filed in federal court describe the pattern of abuse at 358 El Brillo Way. Jane Doe No. 1's complaint, filed in 2008, provides a detailed account of the operation:
"Defendant's plan and scheme reflected a particular pattern and method. Defendant coerced and enticed impressionable, vulnerable, and relatively economically less fortunate minor girls to participate in various acts of sexual misconduct that he committed upon them... The then minor Plaintiff and other minor girls, some as young as 12 years old, were transported to Defendant's Palm Beach mansion by Defendant's employees, agents, and/or assistants in order to provide Defendant with 'massages.'"
The complaint describes the physical movements within the property:
"Upon arrival at Epstein's mansion, Robson would introduce each victim to Kellen, who gathered the girl's personal information. Defendant Kellen would then bring the girl up a flight of stairs to a bedroom that contained a massage table. Kellen set up the massage table, laid out the massage oils, told Plaintiff that Epstein would be in shortly, and then left the room."
After abuse occurred, victims were paid systematically. The complaint alleges "Epstein paid Plaintiff $300. Epstein paid Robson $200 for bringing Plaintiff to him," creating a financial structure that incentivized recruitment of additional victims.
Jane Doe No. 102's complaint describes being "transported to Defendant's Palm Beach mansion" where Epstein "engaged in various acts of sexual misconduct with and upon Plaintiff." The complaint emphasizes the location's role: "The acts occurred primarily at the Defendant's Palm Beach mansion."
The Massage Room Operations
The physical setup of the massage operations, as documented in Alessi's testimony, reveals systematic preparation for abuse. When asked "Would you set up the room for the massages?" Alessi responded: "Many times. Yes, he will tell me, Set up the room inside my bathroom or in the bedroom or in Elaine's bathroom, or outside on the balcony. And I would go and set up or my wife would go and set up the table."
The cleanup process provided physical evidence of what occurred. Alessi testified: "it was a hot oil, and it was—you know this vibrator, the neck vibrators with the long handles. And towels, a lot of towels. We used a lot of towels in the house. Used like maybe 40, 50 towels a day, because every time he go in into the pool, it was two or three towels."
Virginia Giuffre's Account
Virginia Giuffre, who has become the most publicly prominent survivor, described being recruited while working at Mar-a-Lago and brought to the Palm Beach estate. Flight logs document her traveling with Epstein and Maxwell between Palm Beach and other Epstein properties on December 11, 2000 (West Palm Beach to Teterboro with "Virginia Roberts, Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, Emmy Taylor"), January 26, 2001, and numerous other occasions through 2002.
Recruitment Patterns Operating from Palm Beach
The Palm Beach property served as both the site of abuse and a hub for recruiting additional victims. Civil complaints describe how "Defendant's scheme involved the use of underage girls, as well as other individuals, to recruit other underage girls." Victims brought to the estate were encouraged to bring friends, creating the pyramid recruitment structure that expanded Epstein's access to vulnerable minors.
The recruitment targeted economically vulnerable girls from surrounding areas. For comprehensive analysis of recruitment demographics and patterns, see Victims and Recruitment Patterns.
Prosecution History#
The 2007 Non-Prosecution Agreement
The Palm Beach Police investigation led to FBI involvement and a multi-year federal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. By May 2007, prosecutors had drafted a 53-page federal indictment outlining charges based substantially on abuse that occurred at the Palm Beach mansion. The proposed federal charges included conspiracy to violate sex trafficking statutes and substantive violations based on victims who were transported to and abused at 358 El Brillo Way.
However, after extensive negotiations with Epstein's defense team, prosecutors agreed to the controversial 2007 Non-Prosecution Agreement, signed September 24, 2007. The agreement allowed Epstein to plead guilty to two state prostitution charges, avoiding federal prosecution despite the FBI having identified more than 30 minor victims who were abused primarily at the Palm Beach property.
The NPA specifically granted immunity to Epstein's co-conspirators, stating: "the United States also agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to Sarah Kellen, Adriana Ross, Lesley Groff, or Nadia Marcinkova." All four of these individuals coordinated activities at the Palm Beach estate or transported victims there.
State Court Guilty Plea and Sentencing
On June 30, 2008, Epstein appeared in Palm Beach County Circuit Court and pled guilty to one count of solicitation of prostitution and one count of procurement of minors to engage in prostitution under Florida law. He was sentenced to 18 months in county jail followed by 12 months of home detention, registering as a sex offender. The charges and sentencing were based on criminal conduct that occurred at 358 El Brillo Way.
During his incarceration at Palm Beach County jail, Epstein was granted work release, spending up to 12 hours per day at the "Florida Science Foundation" office in West Palm Beach. He served approximately 13 months before being released to home detention.
CVRA Litigation
The government's failure to notify victims led to landmark CVRA litigation, with Judge Marra ruling in 2019 that prosecutors violated victims' rights. See 2007 Non-Prosecution Agreement for detailed coverage of the CVRA litigation.
The 2019 Federal Prosecution
Following investigative reporting by the Miami Herald in 2018 that re-examined the Palm Beach Police investigation and the controversial plea deal, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York obtained a new indictment. Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy, with the indictment specifically referencing abuse at "his residence in Palm Beach, Florida" as one of the primary crime scenes. Epstein died in custody on August 10, 2019, before trial.
Ghislaine Maxwell Prosecution
Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested on July 2, 2020 and charged with facilitating Epstein's abuse. The federal indictment identified the Palm Beach residence as a key location where victims were groomed and abused. On December 29, 2021, Maxwell was convicted on five federal counts including sex trafficking of a minor. Testimony at trial described Maxwell's role in bringing victims to the Palm Beach estate and participating in abuse that occurred there.
Criminal Statutes Applicable to Activity at the Property#
The criminal activity documented at 358 El Brillo Way constitutes violations of multiple federal statutes. The systematic transportation of minors to the property for sexual abuse violates 18 U.S.C. § 2423 (transportation of minors for illegal sexual activity). The pattern of recruiting, harboring, and exploiting minors at the estate for commercial sexual activity constitutes 18 U.S.C. § 1591 (sex trafficking of children).
The coordination between Sarah Kellen, Ghislaine Maxwell, Lesley Groff, and others to facilitate abuse at the property establishes 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy to commit offense against the United States). Staff who knowingly facilitated victims' access to Epstein engaged in conduct addressable under 18 U.S.C. § 2 (aiding and abetting).
The payment structure—where victims received $200-300 per "massage" and recruiters received additional payments for bringing new victims—establishes the commercial element necessary for federal sex trafficking charges. The interstate transportation of victims from other states to the Palm Beach property, and coordination of these visits from Epstein's New York office, established federal jurisdiction.