HAMILTON, Canada

 A newly surfaced email exchange from the Jeffrey Epstein files shows an obscure message from Harvard University professor Martin Nowak to the late sex offender, prompting questions about the language used in the correspondence.

Nowak wrote the email, dated March 10, 2014, to Epstein that "our spy was captured after completing her mission."

Epstein replied by asking, "Did you torture her," according to the document released by the US Justice Department.

While the exchange does not explain what the messages referred to, nor does it identify any individuals or events, the wording has drawn attention on social media following the release of the documents, with some users describing the exchange as "disturbing."

Other emails involving Nowak also appeared in the files, indicating continued contact between the Harvard professor and Epstein for several years. Some correspondence referenced private meetings and social engagements involving prominent academics.

Another document revealed a discussion from February 2014 and included Nowak's name with details about a planned trip.

The document showed that someone named Anna Yermakova would accompany Nowak, and also revealed information about their seating arrangements on the plane.

The travel details attached to the emails state that the pair would fly from Boston to St. Thomas Island, which is near the islands owned by Epstein in the US Virgin Islands, and return two days later.

The emails also show that similar travel arrangements were made for Nowak in 2012, with Epstein personally involved in the correspondence.

In another email from February 2014, Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff said, "Reminder Martin Nowak is asking if he can go to your island march 1."

Nowak has not yet been accused of criminal wrongdoing. But Harvard University placed him on paid administrative leave in 2020 after conducting an internal review of its historical ties to Epstein.

That review found Epstein had access to Harvard facilities and sought to associate himself with the university following his 2008 conviction in the US state of Florida for soliciting sex from a minor.

Nowak continues to be a professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University.

The Justice Department recently released thousands of Epstein-related documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump on Nov. 19.

The files include photos of prominent figures, grand jury transcripts and investigative records, though many pages were heavily redacted to protect victims. The agency released an additional 30,000 documents last Tuesday and on Wednesday said it had received more than 1 million additional documents potentially related to Epstein.

Democrats have criticized the redactions in the documents as violating transparency laws, while the Justice Department defended them, saying they are aimed at protecting the identities and privacy of victims and survivors of sexual exploitation.