NEW YORK _ Amid tears of outrage and words of courage, more than two dozen women appeared in a New York federal courtroom Tuesday at a historic hearing that could serve as a catalyst for change in the way that the U.S. criminal justice system treats victims of sexual assault.
The women, many speaking for the first time, talked about how, as teenagers or women barely out of their teens, they were preyed upon, recruited and sexually abused by sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who used his political, social and financial connections to lure them into a trap that would alter and, in some cases, ruin their lives.
Now grown women, some with their own children, the survivors spoke about years of self-loathing, suicidal thoughts, shame and anger _ and how they still suffer trauma and, at times, a nagging fear that some harm could befall them as a result of going public with their stories.
"Every woman sitting in this room today, and all of the women who have yet come forward and who have not yet come forward and whose lives have been affected by Jeffrey Epstein's sick abuse of young girls, we have all suffered,'' said Chauntae Davies, who was taken to Epstein's island, Little St. James, when she was young, and, she said, raped by Epstein.
At the time, she suffered from a debilitating neurological disorder and was desperate to get treatment. Like other victims, she said Epstein promised to help her but then leveraged his power as a weapon to silence her and keep her prisoner.
There was also a young violist from a small Texas town who was recruited at a mall; an aspiring model from another country whom Epstein promised a Victoria's Secret contract; a 14-year-old drama student who was sexually molested as his ranch in New Mexico; a young artist who believed he would help promote her art among his wealthy friends and instead attacked her "stole her dreams.''
"He thought he was untouchable,'' said Teala Davies, Chauntae's sister, who was also a victim. "In the end, I'm standing here, more powerful than he will ever be."
The hearing was held to formally dispose of a criminal indictment against Epstein, who was found hanged in his cell on Aug. 10 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Epstein's lawyers are disputing the medical examiner's conclusion that Epstein killed himself, telling U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman that there is evidence to suggest that he may have been a victim of an assault, further fueling conspiracy theories that have taken life on social media.
Berman didn't address Epstein's death, instead focusing the proceeding on his victims, many of whom traveled from across the country and as far away as Australia to speak in court, an opportunity they were deprived of when Epstein received a secret non-prosecution agreement a decade ago. That deal allowed Epstein to plead guilty in 2008 to minor prostitution charges, even though federal prosecutors in South Florida had enough evidence to fill a 53-page federal indictment on sex trafficking charges and other crimes.
The 2008 indictment however, was inexplicably shelved amid negotiations between Epstein's high-profile lawyers and then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta. The deal, which was signed and sealed so that his victims wouldn't know about it, violated the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act, a federal judge ruled in February.
"The victims have been included in the proceeding today, both because of their relevant experiences and because they should always be involved before, rather than after the fact," Berman noted, going on to cite case law that requires victims be given a voice when a case involving them will be disposed.
Many of the survivors praised Berman as well as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman, who brought new sex trafficking charges against Epstein in July. Berman, who is not related to the judge, has vowed to continue the probe despite Epstein's death, pointing out that Epstein had others help him, including Ghislaine Maxwell, his former partner, who has denied any involvement in any crimes.
Some of the women who testified did so using their real names, while others used a Jane Doe pseudonym. Some chose to provide written statements. Although the formats differed, the stories were eerily similar.
The women described how Epstein used female recruiters in New York, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands to find girls at malls, spas and parties to induce them to visit Epstein's various homes, using the ploy that they were hired to give him massages in exchange for $200 to $300. The massages, however, often turned into molestations and rapes, the survivors said.
One woman said she was 14 when she was sexually molested by him at his rural home in New Mexico, which he called Zorro Ranch. The woman, identified as Jane Doe No. 9, said he made her believe that he would help her with his ties to celebrities and politicians.
"I remember feeling so small and he was so powerful,'' she said, describing in detail the sexual encounter, which happened in an area of his home that was lined with photographs of famous people.
Afterward, she said she went out on an ATV with another young girl and crashed the ATV. The woman recalled that she worried that Epstein would be angry about the accident.
"Don't worry. No one gets in trouble for anything here," she recalls the girl telling her.
The young violist said her mother died of cancer when she was 11 and her father was in such despair that he couldn't tend to her. One day, she was at a shopping mall and a woman approached her and asked her about her violin case, which she was carrying.
She said she knew a very rich man who could help her and send her to school.
"We talked about the violin, my family, and why I had clothes that looked like hand-me-downs," she said. After meeting Epstein he gradually coerced her into having sex. She said she reported it to a Texas Rape Crisis Center, but grew increasingly depressed until one day she armed herself with a gun and drove to an isolated area, where she had intended to kill herself. It was only the memory of her mother that stopped her, she said.
Bradley Edwards, attorney for some of the accusers, called it a "historic day for crime victims in America."
Edwards continued: "This hearing has great significance. While it does not provide complete closure, it solidifies the fact that victims are an integral part of the process."
"I can't say that I'm pleased he committed suicide, but I am at peace knowing he will not be able to hurt anyone else," said one of Epstein's accusers in a written statement released by her lawyer, Lisa Bloom.
Attorney General William Barr has ordered a federal investigation into his death.
The case was first investigated by Palm Beach police beginning in 2005. It wound through the criminal justice system, ending with the FBI and the U.S. attorney in Miami. The Miami Herald, in a three-part series published this past November, reconstructed the case by analyzing the dozens of civil suits filed over the past decade. The Herald also identified more than 80 women who alleged they were abused by Epstein, interviewing about a dozen of them for the series. Four of them spoke on the record and on video.
As a result of the series, and subsequent stories that further examined the case, Acosta _ appointed U.S. secretary of labor by President Trump in 2017 _ was forced to resign. Epstein, who had returned to his jet-setting life after a short jail term, was arrested on new federal charges in July.
Two federal investigations into the case are continuing as well as a criminal probe in Florida, where Epstein abused many of the girls from 1997 to 2006.
In February, a federal judge in Florida ruled that Epstein's 2008 plea deal was negotiated in violation of the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act, which requires federal prosecutors to take certain steps to involve victims in the criminal justice process. In this case, the judge found that prosecutors deliberately hid the plea deal from Epstein's victims, sealing the agreement so that no one, including the victims and the public, would learn about it until months after the case was closed.
The non-prosecution agreement called for Epstein to serve slightly more than a year in the Palm Beach County Jail. During his incarceration, he was allowed to leave his jail nearly every day, spending up to 12 hours in a luxurious office he set up in West Palm Beach.
One woman recently came forward to allege that Epstein had a sexual encounter with her and another woman in his office during the time he was provided "security" by plainclothes members of the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office. Epstein was allowed to hire the deputies, paying them to escort him to and from jail. Questions have been raised about how a convicted sex offender of young girls was allowed work release, some of that time spent behind closed doors unsupervised, records show.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered an investigation into whether laws were broken by sheriff's deputies and others in the jail who gave him special treatment.'
"He seemed like a god. A diabolical figure," said one woman Tuesday, identified as Jane Doe No. 11. She was introduced to him in New York when she was 16. "He impressed me with his story. There were pictures of Academy Award winning actors and supermodels in his house. He made it clear that he knew important people. I was a perfect victim. He promised me he would write me a recommendation to Harvard."
He bragged that he gave large amounts of money to Harvard, which he did, and that he was friends with Harvard's president.
He never made good on his promises she said, but she went on to graduate with honors from a top college after applying to a number of prominent universities _ but not Harvard _ she said because of Epstein's ties to the school.
Teala Davies, who is represented by noted women's rights attorney Gloria Allred, said she hoped that federal prosecutors in New York continue to pursue those many conspirators who were employed by Epstein.
"I'm still a victim because I am fearful for my daughters and everyone's daughters," she said. "I'm fearful for their future in this world, where there are predators in power, a world where people can avoid justice if their pockets run deep enough."
