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Have allegations of minors working in Mar-a-Lago changing rooms been investigated by authorities?
Executive summary
Allegations that minors were present in Mar‑a‑Lago changing rooms date back to reporting about the 1990s Miss Teen USA pageant and statements connected to Jeffrey Epstein; four pageant contestants told BuzzFeed in 2016 that Donald Trump walked into a 1997 dressing room while they were changing [1]. Available sources in the set also record Trump’s broader comments that Epstein “stole” young women who worked at Mar‑a‑Lago and reporting that at least one alleged Epstein victim said she visited Mar‑a‑Lago as a minor; however, the sources here do not show a definitive, publicly reported criminal investigation specifically focused on minors working in Mar‑a‑Lago changing rooms [1] [2].
1. What the reporting actually says about minors and dressing rooms
Contemporaneous and retrospective reporting connects two strands: Miss Teen USA pageant contestants from the late 1990s who said Trump walked into dressing rooms (four contestants told BuzzFeed in 2016 they were changing when Trump entered), and later testimony and claims linked to Jeffrey Epstein that place some underage women at Mar‑a‑Lago in the 1990s and early 2000s [1]. Newsweek’s 2025 piece recounts that one Epstein accuser — given the pseudonym “Jane” — testified she visited Mar‑a‑Lago at 14 and that other women who competed in pageants recollected Trump entering dressing rooms in 1997 [1]. BBC and Euronews pieces record Trump’s own public framing that Epstein “stole” young women who worked at the Mar‑a‑Lago spa, including naming Virginia Giuffre as a person who said she worked there at 16 [2] [3].
2. What the sources show about official investigations
The set of provided sources documents several law‑enforcement and DOJ actions tied to Mar‑a‑Lago, but they primarily concern classified‑documents probes and the 2022 FBI search, not a criminal probe expressly into minors in changing rooms [4] [5] [6]. Wikipedia and Britannica coverage note subpoenas and an FBI search related to classified documents, and Britannica mentions Jack Smith’s appointment to oversee probes into January 6 and Mar‑a‑Lago document removal [4] [5] [6]. None of the supplied items say federal or local authorities opened, charged, or closed a specific criminal investigation solely about minors working or changing in Mar‑a‑Lago dressing rooms; therefore, available sources do not mention a discrete investigation of that allegation [1] [4] [5].
3. Investigations that are documented in these sources (and their scope)
The documented official actions in the provided materials are: subpoenas for documents and surveillance footage and the August 2022 FBI search tied to classified materials [4]. The FBI/materials coverage centers on national‑security and records issues and subsequent legal wrangling over seized items [5]. BBC and Newsweek recount public claims and testimony related to Epstein and Mar‑a‑Lago visits but do not report that law enforcement opened a distinct probe into minors specifically in club changing rooms based on those pageant or Epstein‑era allegations [1] [2].
4. Competing viewpoints and limits of reporting
Reporting presents competing emphases: Newsweek and BuzzFeed‑sourced recollections highlight witness statements about dressing‑room intrusions during pageants [1]; Trump and his allies have long denied wrongdoing in Epstein matters and have portrayed some claims differently — for example, Trump publicly said Epstein “stole” young women from Mar‑a‑Lago rather than admitting any direct wrongdoing himself [2] [3]. The set lacks direct law‑enforcement statements confirming or denying investigations into those dressing‑room claims; therefore, we cannot conclude from these sources whether authorities investigated that specific allegation [1] [2].
5. What would be needed to confirm an investigation
To confirm an investigation of minors in Mar‑a‑Lago changing rooms, reporting would need to include: an official statement from local police, the Palm Beach County State Attorney, the FBI, or the Department of Justice asserting an inquiry; court filings, subpoenas, or charging documents tied to those specific allegations; or public records disclosures such as grand‑jury actions or unsealed investigative records. None of the files provided here contain such documents or quotes [4] [5] [6]. Thus, available sources do not mention those investigative records.
6. Bottom line for readers
There is credible reporting that people who were minors or pageant contestants recall visits to Mar‑a‑Lago and episodes of an adult entering dressing rooms in the late 1990s, and there are public statements linking Epstein and Mar‑a‑Lago staffers [1] [2]. However, in the set of sources you provided, there is no explicit record of a law‑enforcement investigation or prosecution focused specifically on allegations of minors working in or being photographed in Mar‑a‑Lago changing rooms; available sources do not mention a discrete criminal probe of that precise allegation [1] [4] [5]. If you want confirmation beyond these items, you should seek local or federal public records, direct statements from prosecutors or investigators, or subsequent investigative reporting that cites such records.