FILE PHOTO - U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta speaks at the North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) 2019 legislative conference in Washington, U.S., April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said on Tuesday that he was glad financier Jeffrey Epstein was being prosecuted on sex trafficking charges and defended himself against criticism over the way he handled the case as a former federal prosecutor.

“The crimes committed by Epstein are horrific, and I am pleased that NY prosecutors are moving forward with a case based on new evidence,” Acosta said on Twitter. “With the evidence available more than a decade ago, federal prosecutors insisted that Epstein go to jail, register as a sex offender and put the world on notice that he was a sexual predator.”