by Dylan Howard
P: Did you ever take your panties off and be completely nude?
V: Every now and then yeah.
P: He touch himself?
V: Yes . . . he would masturbate
P: Did you ever bring anybody to the house?
V: Yes I did. Neither one of them wanted to go back though.
Police Victim Interview D
V: I was short on rent one month and she told me all I had to do was give him a massage and he would give me $200. . . . I thought about it and I was like I really need the money. I asked my parents and they couldn’t give me the money. I asked everyone I knew. So, I went there, and I gave him the massage and it was a weird situation.
P: Did you provide the massage with clothing on?
V: All I had was underwear on. She did not tell me that. I was absolutely surprised when I got there. I knew nothing. He had a towel over his private parts and he was just laying on a table and I was just massaging from the knee down for about 45 minutes . . . ten minutes before we were getting ready to leave he asked her to leave because we were in the room together, and he asked me to massage his chest and he had the towel on. And about 5 minutes into it he took the towel off and started pleasing himself, which I was very uncomfortable with. Like I wanted to leave right when I got there.
I’m sorry I don’t like thinking back on it, it was so . . .
When he started pleasing himself he got up and went over to a drawer and he pulled out this vibrator thing and then he pulled down my panties . . . it was like this stick with a knob on it. He didn’t like stick it inside me but he put it on me.
He just got up and walked out. He’s like, “OK you can put your clothes on,” and he closed the door. After he walked out and when I went out, I went downstairs and he was down there and there were like there other girls there. I guess they stayed there or something.
P: Did he say anything to you while you were doing the massage?
V: He was talking about art and everything like that and you know just the paintings on the walls that he had and stuff like that. The whole situation was odd. Before we even got out of the car when we just pulled up she said, “Don’t say anything. Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to.” So I was like, “What the hell are you getting me into?” So, I didn’t say anything and there were pictures, pencil drawings of naked people. It looked really weird. . . . I am so ashamed that I did that because it’s not like me . . .
Police Victim Interview E
V: I told her that I didn’t want to be left alone with someone because I was molested when I was 12, so just like me being alone like right now I’m kinda uncomfortable and I told her that like I’m not going if you’re not gonna be there with me and I was unaware that I was gonna be alone with him for that ten minutes and I thought I was gonna die . . .
Jane Doe #1: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death.
“I still feel like I am learning the ways that he’s impacted me.
“Even though Jeffrey Epstein brought it to a grand scale, on some level, a lot of girls could relate to the trauma we are talking about.”
Jane Doe #2: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“I think each of us has a different story and different circumstances for why we stayed in it, but for me, I think he was really strategic in how he approached each of us. Things happened slowly over time. It was almost like that analogy of a frog being in a pan of water and slowly turning the flame up.
“A lot of us were in very vulnerable situations and in extreme poverty, circumstances where we didn’t have anyone on our side.”
Jane Doe #3: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“My world kind of spiraled after that. I stopped going on modeling castings. I gained weight. I became depressed. I stopped going out with my friends. And only five months after I had been in New York City to pursue my dream, I left. I left the modeling industry, I left New York City, and I totally switched my career path.”
Jane Doe #4: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“We will always carry irreparable damage and pain throughout our lives after this. It’s something that’s never going to go away. Whoever we marry in our life, whatever future we have in our life, it’s always going to be something that’s always there for us.”
Jane Doe #5: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“You paid for your freedom. You violated my rights. You should have to pay for them, just as anyone else. You got a plea deal no one else would have been able to get. You used your money to get out of paying the price for your actions.”
Jane Doe #6: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“Jeffrey Epstein stole my innocence. He gave me a life sentence of guilt and shame. I do not consider myself a victim. I see myself a survivor.”
Jane Doe #7: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“I used to be relatively carefree, inquisitive, hopeful, and excited about life, but my life changed because of Jeffrey Epstein. My perspective on life became very dark when I was unknowingly recruited by one of his agents. Jeffrey Epstein ruined me.”
Jane Doe #8: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“I cannot say that I am pleased he committed suicide, but I am at peace knowing he will not be able to hurt anyone else. However, the sad truth remains. I, along with other people, will never have an answer as to why. I will never have an apology for the wrongdoing. And most importantly, Epstein will not be justly sentenced for his crimes.”
Jane Doe #9: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“When I was fifteen years old, I flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane to Zorro Ranch, where I was sexually molested by him for many hours. What I remember most vividly was him explaining to me how beneficial the experience was for me and how much he was helping me to grow.
“I remember feeling so small and powerless, especially after he positioned me by laying me on his floor so that I was confronted by all the framed photographs on his dresser of him smiling with wealthy celebrities and politicians.”
Jane Doe #10: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“Epstein targeted and took advantage of me, a young girl, whose mother had recently died a horrific death and whose family structure had deteriorated. His actions placed me, a young girl, into a downward spiral to the point where I purchased a gun and drove myself to an isolated place to end my suffering.”
Jane Doe #11: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“He promised me that he would write me a letter of recommendation for Harvard if I got the grades and scores needed for admission. His word was worth a lot, he assured me, as he was in the midst of funding and leading Harvard’s studies on the human brain, and the president was his friend.
“I had never even kissed a boy before I met him, and never throughout the horrific abuse did Jeffrey Epstein kiss me even once. When he stole my virginity, he washed my entire body compulsively in the shower and then told me, ‘If you’re not a virgin, I will kill you.’ And then I wasn’t a virgin anymore.”
Jane Doe #12: An anonymous victim who spoke in court against Epstein on August 27, 2019, seventeen days after his death
“They told me to go upstairs and directed me to Jeffrey Epstein’s office. Mr. Epstein had a white robe on and we chatted very briefly. I had my portfolio of photos, but he didn’t even look at it. S
uddenly, he took his robe off and got close to me. I got up to leave, but the door was locked.”
Chauntae Davies
“I began my massage, trying not to let him smell my fear and obvious discomfort, but before I knew what was happening, he grabbed onto my wrist and tugged me towards the bed. I tried to pull away, but he was unbuttoning my shorts and pulling my body onto his already naked body faster than I could think. I was searching for words but all I could say was, ‘No, please stop,’ but that just seemed to excite him more.”
Marijke Chartouni
“She told me he went to Cooper Union. He was a mathematical genius. That he had favorite girls that he would take to Chanel for fifteen-minute, all-you-can-buy shopping trips. She told me his right-hand person had connection to the arts and the fashion world, and she could help me.”
Jennifer Araoz
“He robbed me of my dreams. He robbed me of my chance to pursue a career I always adored. He stole my chance at really feeling love because I was so scared to trust anyone for so many years that I had such severe anxiety. I didn’t want to leave my house, let alone my bed.
“The fact that I will never have a chance to face my predator in court eats away at my soul. Even in death, Epstein is trying to hurt me. I had hoped to at last get an apology, but this evil man had no remorse or caring for what he did to anyone.”
Alicia Arden
“He was touching my hips and my butt, and wanting to lift my skirt up. He said he wanted to manhandle me. I filed a police report but I really wasn’t taken seriously. My family, my friends discouraged me because I wasn’t physically raped. I was assaulted, he was touching me and taking my clothes off, and I felt if I didn’t get out of there it could’ve been worse.
“So did it need to be worse? Did I need to be raped for anyone to take me seriously?”
Teala Davies
“I was going to start this statement by saying that I was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein. But that’s not the case. I’m still a victim of Jeffrey Epstein. I’m still a victim because the fear of not being heard stopped me from telling my story for so many years. . . . I’m still a victim because I am fearful for my daughters and everyone’s daughters. . . . I’m still a victim because the seventeen-year-old Teala was manipulated into thinking she had found someone who cared, someone who wanted to help.”
Courtney Wild
“Jeffrey Epstein robbed myself and all the other victims of our day in court to confront him one by one, and for that he is a coward.”
Anouska De Georgiou
“Something I think is very important to communicate is that loss of innocence, trust, and joy that is not recoverable. The abuse, spanning several years, was devaluing beyond measure and affected my ability to form and maintain healthy relationships, both in my work and my personal life. He could not begin to fathom what he took from us.”
Michelle Licata
“What happened to me occurred many years ago when I was in high school, but it still affects my life. I was told then that Jeffrey Epstein was going to be held accountable, but he was not. In fact, the government worked out a secret deal and didn’t tell me about it. . . . The fact that I mattered this time and the other victims mattered is what counts.”
Theresa J. Helm
“That experience for the last seventeen years has been a dark corner in my story. . . . So I’m here today because it is time to bring light to that darkness, and it’s time to replace that darkness with light.”
Virginia Roberts Giuffre
“He will not have his day in court, but the reckoning of accountability has begun, supported by the voices of these brave and beautiful women in this courtroom today. The reckoning must not end—it must continue. He did not act alone and we, the victims, know that.”
Sarah Ransome
“I would like to acknowledge and extend my gratitude to the prosecutors from the Southern District of New York for pursuing justice on behalf of the victims. Please, please finish what you have started.
“We, the victims, are still here, prepared to tell the truth, and we all know he did not act alone. We are survivors, and the pursuit of justice should not abate.”
Annie Farmer (Speaking on behalf of her sister Maria Farmer)
“Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell not only assaulted her, but as we’re hearing from so many of these brave women here today, they stole her dreams and her livelihood. She risked her safety in 1996, so many years ago, to report them—to no avail—and it is heartbreaking to her and to me that all this destruction has been wrought since that time.”
CHAPTER 10
“HE’S INTELLIGENCE”
More than “34 confirmed minors” had found the bravery to share the details of their darkest nightmares with strange men in police uniforms. Jeffrey Epstein’s employees had stood up to share what they knew, even though their livelihoods were at stake. The Palm Beach Police Department had put together one of the strongest and most jaw-dropping cases in recent memory, proudly passing it off to prosecutors.
Then, there was a fumble. Or more accurately, an entirely new play began to unfold behind the scenes.
United States Attorney Alex Acosta had personally assured Detective Reiter of the Palm Beach Police Department that he was on the case. The only problem, Acosta said, was that he’d simply been stymied in his efforts to bring Epstein to justice by the maneuverings of his legal team since delivering the fifty-three-page indictment that charged him with grooming, paying, and coercing underage girls to have sex with him.
Victory for the victims was still in their grasp, but Acosta had his own plans.
In October 2007, the Miami Herald reported, Acosta secretly met with one of Epstein’s attorneys, Jay Lefkowitz, over breakfast at the Marriott in West Palm Beach. Amid vacationers and traveling businessmen, they struck one of the most outrageous sweetheart deals of all time.
According to the sentencing document obtained by this team, Epstein would:
Plead guilty to minor felony state charges of “Procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.”
Epstein and “any potential co-conspirators” would be immune from such charges moving forward.
Epstein would agree to register as a sex offender.
According to the sentencing document, the nature of Epstein’s charges would have required a “lowest possible prison sentence” of 21.5 months. Instead, that document showed Epstein would serve twelve months in prison and ten months of probation. A box was checked noting that this was a “mitigated departure,” or a decision to impose less severe penalties than the sentencing guidelines recommended. Ultimately, the final sentence was eighteen months.
The facts of that plea deal are by this point in time widely known. What most people don’t realize, however, is that Palm Beach County prosecutors actually had offered Epstein another plea deal back in 2006. An even sweeter deal, it would have helped him avoid grand jury proceedings and jail time altogether, likely sweeping the entire investigation under the rug. The plea deal, issued in a letter from Assistant State Attorney Lanna Behlohlavek to Epstein’s attorney Guy Fronstin and obtained by this team reads:
By this letter, I am confirming the offer of settlement to your client, Jeffrey Epstein. Should you accept this settlement, the state will not proceed with Grand Jury proceedings tomorrow.
Plea to Aggravated Assault with the Intent to Commit a Felony, a third degree felony.
Adjudication will be withheld, and your client will be placed on 5 year probation with the following conditions: no contact direct or indirect with victim [redacted]; no contact with minors unless supervised by an approved adult with knowledge of the underlying facts, but in no case shall the supervising adult be [assistants] Nadia Marcinkova or Sarah Kellen; psycho-sexual evaluation and successful completion of any recommended treatment . . . ; full payment of the costs of the investigation by the Palm Beach Police Department; and may apply for early termination of probation after three years if there are no violations.
/> Epstein rejected the deal. What part of that list of demands was too much for him? Was he confident at that time that he’d skate entirely?
Even when he was finally sentenced to prison, in 2008, he seemed nonplussed by the whole situation. Relaxing on Little St. James at the time, Epstein told a New York Times reporter that he fancied himself a real-life Gulliver, shipwrecked in a world that was so much smaller than he was.
“Gulliver’s playfulness had unintended consequences,” Epstein said. “That is what happens with wealth. There are unexpected burdens as well as benefits.”
“I am not blameless,” he admitted. Although his lawyers insisted Epstein was unaware of the girls’ ages, he claimed he’d taken steps to ensure no improprieties would take place in the future.
He told the Times he’d hired a full-time, male masseur to replace his roster of teens. He said he’d assembled a “board of directors of friends to counsel him on his behavior.” Considering the behavior of his “friends” at that moment in time—and that they were essentially the coconspirators that allowed him to get away with the worst of crimes—one could make a reasonable case that wasn’t the best idea.
Heading off to prison in Miami, Epstein confessed he was “anxious” but confident: “Your body can be contained,” he told the reporter, “but not your mind.”
In yet another sign of his arrogance, he set his email to auto-reply, alerting friends that he was “on vacation.”
In truth, Epstein’s time behind bars would be more of a retreat than retribution. To start, he was not sent to federal prison like most sex offenders in the state. Instead, he was given a private wing at the Palm Beach County Stockade Facility, where he enjoyed the care of his own personal security guards.
Even then, remarkably, he spent little time within the confines of the jail. Just over three months into his sentence, Epstein was granted work release, allowing him to leave the premises for up to seven days a week, up to sixteen hours at a time. That period included up to two hours at his Palm Beach sex den.