The Miami Herald says that the federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta - who was Secretary of Labour in the Trump administration - struck a plea agreement hiding the extent of his crimes and ending an FBI investigation into whether there were more victims or more powerful people who took part. The paper described it as the "deal of the century".

Mr Acosta resigned in July 2019 over the scandal, though he defended his actions as guaranteeing at last some jail time for Epstein.

Since 2008 Epstein had been listed as a level three on the New York sex offenders register. It is a lifelong designation meaning he was at a high risk of reoffending.

But Epstein maintained his properties and his assets after his conviction.

In December 2010, Prince Andrew, the third child of the Queen, was pictured in New York's Central Park with Epstein, drawing controversy.

In a BBC interview in November 2019, the prince, who had known Epstein since 1999, said he had gone to New York to break off their friendship. He said he regretted staying at the financier's house while he was there, and that he had "let the side down" by doing so.

An Epstein accuser, Virginia Roberts - now Virginia Giuffre - would later allege that she was made to have sex with Prince Andrew in the early 2000s when she was 17.

Prince Andrew categorically denied having sex with her and said he has no recollection of a photo of the pair being taken together in London.

But in 2022, he paid millions to Ms Giuffre to settle a lawsuit she filed which alleged that he sexually abused her.

Epstein was arrested in New York on 6 July 2019 after flying back from Paris on his private jet.

Prosecutors were reportedly seeking the forfeiture of his New York mansion, where some of his alleged crimes occurred.

Epstein always denied any wrongdoing, and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

After being denied bail by the court, he was being held in New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center. He was taken to hospital briefly in July for what was widely reported to be injuries to his neck - which neither prison officials or his lawyers would officially comment on.

At his last court appearance on 31 July, it became clear that he would spend a year in prison, with a trial no earlier than summer 2020. Prosecutors said they wanted no delay, and bringing the trial quickly was in the public interest.

Now, Epstein will never face the trial at all.