New York federal prosecutors said Monday they were not bound by an earlier agreement in Florida not to pursue sexual abuse charges against wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who has now been charged with allegedly exploiting dozens of underage girls at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York said the decade-old nonprosecution agreement between Epstein and Florida federal prosecutors did not affect his office’s ability to indict Epstein Monday morning on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy.