The Epstein files were supposed to expose the powerful perpetrators. But sadly, it is the victims who now feel exposed.
One survivor broke down in court, narrating how she woke up one day to find her name splashed everywhere and telling the world about her past, without her say in the matter.
“I can only imagine the long-term impact this ‘mistake’ will have on my life,” she said in court.
Highlights
- An unofficial congressional hearing was held by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in Palm Beach, Florida.
- Women who were exploited by Jeffrey Epstein provided their personal and sometimes emotional testimonies.
- One survivor broke down in court, saying her privacy was violated when the US Department of Justice released the Epstein files without redacting her name.
- “I can only imagine the long term impact this ‘mistake’ will have on my life,” she said.
One survivor broke down in court, narrating how she woke up one day to find her name splashed across the files
Image credits: Oversight Committee Democrats
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
On Tuesday, Epstein victims shared harrowing accounts in court during a field hearing in Palm Beach County.
The hearing was held by Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee as part of the Jeffrey Epstein Investigation.
It took place less than three miles away from where the disgraced financier mistreated hundreds of underage girls.
Image credits: DOJ
During the congressional probe into the handling of the Epstein files, one survivor named Roza said her privacy was violated by a system meant to protect her.
She was only 18 when French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel lured her to New York under the pretense of helping her fulfill her modeling dreams.
Brunel was Epstein’s longtime conspirator and had founded MC2 Model Management with the billionaire’s support. He was awaiting his own r*pe trial when he was found hanging in a Paris jail cell in 2022.
Modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel allegedly used his business to recruit girls and arrange US visas to visit Epstein
Image credits: Oversight Committee Democrats
Roza said Brunel recruited her and brought her from Uzbekistan to the US in 2008. The following year, she was supplied to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion while Epstein was on house arrest following his 2008 conviction for soliciting pr*stitution from a minor.
“Jeffrey Epstein was under house arrest for the mol*station of underage girls at the exact time he was ab*sing me,” she said.
He even spoke about his arrest “like it was a game, bragging about girls visiting his cell and his friendships with authorities,” she added.
Image credits: DOJ
The survivor recalled how Epstein would throw around the names of powerful politicians to “demonstrate his influence” and told her he was an investor in the same modeling agency that promised her a career in the US.
When the agency told her she owed them $10,000, Epstein offered Roza a job at his science foundation. But it turned out to be a way for him to trap her in his lair.
Image credits: DOJ
“One day, his masseuse called me into his room where I was mol*sted for the first time by Jeffrey,” she said. “For the following three years, I was subjected to ongoing r*pe.”
The convicted businessman would threaten her with her visa status and money issues to stop her from escaping, she alleged.
To keep her close to Palm Beach, Roza was kept in Miami for the duration of Epstein’s house arrest and only returned to New York after he served his sentence.
“One day, his masseuse called me into his room...,” Roza told the hearing
Image credits: Oversight Committee Democrats
For years, Roza kept her identity private and was known only as Jane Doe when Epstein’s horrific crimes came to light. But the release of the Epstein files by the US Department of Justice this year left her identity exposed.
“I woke up one day with my name mentioned over 500 times, while the rich and powerful remain protected by redactions, my name was exposed to the world,” she said.
With reporters from across the world now contacting her, she said, “I cannot live without looking over my shoulder. I can only imagine the long-term impact this ‘mistake’ will have on my life.”
Image credits: Oversight Committee Democrats
Another survivor, Jena-Lisa Jones, also slammed the release of the Epstein files without any regard for the privacy of the victims.
The release led to husbands and children finding out about their wives and mothers being s*xually exploited through news reports, Jones told the hearing.
After the release of the Epstein files, husbands and children found out about their wives and mothers being abused through news reports
Image credits: DOJ
Another survivor, Dani Bensky, spoke about how she was recruited into Epstein’s circle.
She also said victims were encouraged to recruit their own friends into the network.
“I had two recruiters,” she recalled. “One was a late teen, and the other was only 15 years old, just trying to escape her own ab*se.”
The intention behind Tuesday’s hearing was to throw focus on the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing investigation into Epstein’s trafficking network and how he was able to secure a plea deal in 2008, which shut down the possibility of a wider federal investigation and allowed him to scale up his ab*se.
During the hearing, survivors and advocates also urged lawmakers not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, the only Epstein associate and co-conspirator to ever be convicted and imprisoned.
“I wish these survivors would counter and just take 20 names and put them on the news,” one commented online
