Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and member of the USA Today board of contributors. Follow him on Twitter @RaulAReyes. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. View more opinions on CNN.

(CNN) Until recently, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta was probably one of President Donald Trump's least controversial Cabinet members. But now he is facing rising pressure over his handling of a sex offender case involving a well-connected billionaire.

On February 21, a federal judge ruled that Miami prosecutors, led by then-US Attorney Acosta, broke the law when they arranged a plea deal for billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 without conferring with his victims. Although Epstein was accused of trafficking children for sex, Acosta allowed him to negotiate an extremely lenient agreement that was kept secret from his victims -- denying them the opportunity to affect the prosecutorial process. Now the victims might have a say: The judge gave the government 15 days to talk with the victims who sued and figure out what remedy should apply.

Raul A. Reyes

Thanks in part to investigative reporting by The Miami Herald , Acosta is now under scrutiny for his handling of Epstein's case, and he could be summoned to testify before Congress. But with or without a congressional hearing, one thing is clear: Acosta must face the consequences of arranging such an improper agreement. He should step down as labor secretary.

You don't have to be a legal expert to understand how unusual Epstein's plea deal was, given the severity of the accusations against him -- molesting and trafficking dozens of young women, some as young as 13 . With federal authorities investigating him, Epstein could have faced spending the rest of his life in prison. That didn't happen. Instead, Acosta and the prosecutors let Epstein plead guilty to two lesser prostitution-related charges, and this agreement was kept secret until 2015 when it was unsealed in a lawsuit.

At his 2017 confirmation hearing , Acosta was asked by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia about the Epstein deal. "At the end of the day, based on the evidence, professionals within the prosecutor's office decide that a plea that guarantees that someone goes to jail, that guarantees that someone register generally, and that guarantees other outcomes, is a good thing," Acosta said.