RENATO MARIOTTI: How Jeffrey Epstein Helped Make the Case Against Him.

Mr. Epstein can be prosecuted by the Southern District of New York because his agreement was with the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida. As New York federal prosecutors noted, the agreement does not bind other offices. In fact, Justice Department policy prevents United States attorney’s offices from making agreements that limit other offices.

In most cases, that is not an issue. Prosecutors can bring charges only in jurisdictions where the crime occurred, and typically, if they cut a deal after a long investigation, another office is unlikely to investigate the same crime later.

What Mr. Epstein’s lawyers did not count on was investigative reporting 12 years later that shined a new light on his alleged widespread sexual abuse of minors. The reporting, in The Miami Herald, led to outrage that his deal was unlawfully concealed from victims. The deal is now being reviewed by the Justice Department for misconduct. The questions surrounding that agreement, and the heinous nature of the crimes he is charged with, justified this indictment years later.

Mr. Epstein will not be able to stop the new charges from going forward. There is no statute of limitation in cases like this, and because he was never charged with a federal offense, there is no double jeopardy issue.

Better late than never.