Billionaire freed from jail on sex charges

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 22 (UPI) -- Florida billionaire Jeffrey Epstein left jail Wednesday after serving less than 13 months for procuring underage girls for sex, his attorney says.

Epstein, 56, of Palm Beach, Fla., was released from the Palm Beach County jail by a side door, avoiding a group of reporters who had gathered at the facility's front entrance, The Palm Beach Post reported.

"Jeffrey is just happy this is over," attorney Jack Goldberger told the newspaper, saying that for now, Epstein would go to his home with a feeling of "relief and excitement. He just wanted to go home and rest right now, and that's what he did."

While he has finished his jail sentence, Epstein still faces a host of legal problems. Underage girls claiming to be his victims have filed a dozen lawsuits against the money manager, prompting Goldberger to say, "There was never any victims. There are women who have filed lawsuits against Mr. Epstein and we will challenge them."

The Post said Epstein will be on probation for one year and will have to donate a sample of his DNA for the state's sex offender database.