They came from different worlds and different circumstances, with different dreams. Some metJeffrey Epsteinthrough job interviews. Others were lured by his girlfriend and coconspirator,Ghislaine Maxwell, or by other young girls like themselves, who were paid by Epstein to recruit them. They were promised Ivy League educations, lucrative connections, medical treatment, modeling assignments, careers in art and dance.
Instead, they werephysically and psychologically abused. The architecture was always the same: Opportunities presented by a seemingly elegant, charming, erudite, endlessly wealthy man who was actually a master at subterfuge, savagery, and deception.
Maxwell is now servinga 20-year sentencefor convictions including sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking conspiracy, after helping Epstein build a criminal enterprise that, according to the Department of Justice,harmed more than 1,000 victims.
Liz Stein was 21 when she first met Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. She says they coerced her into breaking up with her boyfriend and then introduced her to men they presented as their friends. “I didn’t realize when they set me up on dates that I was being trafficked,” she says.
When Epsteindied in his jail cellin 2019, the federal case against him seemed to die with him. But then, in 2024, Donald Trump campaigned on a promise ofexposing the so-called Epstein files. Many survivors began to cautiously hope they would have justice.
Since that time, survivors havemet with politicians on Capitol Hillbehind closed doors and publicly, in front of microphones, seeking accountability. In February, they sat behind then US attorney generalPam Bondi when she testifiedbefore the House Judiciary Committee. Then they attended Trump’s State of the Union address as guests of Democratic lawmakers. But they didn’t get the outcome they were seeking.
Time and again the women say they have encountered politicians who demand justice on their behalf while doing little to help them. Earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance acknowledged thatthe administration “mishandled” the releaseof the Justice Department’s Epstein files. And during his recent Senate confirmation hearings, attorney general nominee Todd Blanche defended the department’s release of the files while acknowledgingthat “mistakes were made”in the process.
We spoke to five women who survived Epstein. Their stories are remarkably similar, from the grooming to the abuse to the fight for justice. And each is different in its particular horrors. Their interviews have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Liz Stein, 52, met Epstein and Maxwell at age 21:When I was a college senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, I was interning at Henri Bendel, the upscale department store. I wanted to work in fashion for a year or two, then go to law school. One day a client came into Henri Bendel, and we just hit it off. Her name wasGhislaine Maxwell. When I offered to deliver her packages of the purchases I helped her with—I offered that service to many of my high-end clients—she had me bring them to the St. Regis hotel. The concierge told me she was at the bar. I went in. That’s where I met Jeffrey Epstein.
Maria Farmer, 56:I was 25 years old when I first met Epstein at a showing of my student work at the New York Academy of Art. When I interviewed for a job with him, the actress Morgan Fairchild was sitting in his office on the radiator. She said nothing to me.
A spokesperson for Fairchild toldVanity Fair,“Epstein once invited Morgan to come to the office and see a painting. She agreed to stop by. There were other people around. She went, saw the art, and left. Less than 20 minutes and no radiator.”
Maria Farmer:Epstein wore phenomenal Ralph Lauren clothes. Epstein always smelled really clean, like Dr. Hauschka soap. Like roses. He was intelligent and elegant and well-spoken, and he was always interested in ideas. I liked talking to him about design and architecture and history. He was very knowledgeable about history. He was very, very charming. I had no idea he was molesting girls.
Lara Blume McGee was just 20 when she met Ghislaine Maxwell at New York Fashion Week in 2000. “I could tell she was connected,” she says of Maxwell. She remembers thinking, “Wow, this could be a great mentor.”
Annie Farmer, 46, met Epstein at age 16:Maria was in New York, working for him. That’s how I talked about him: “Jeffrey Epstein, my sister’s boss.” He had offered to fly me out to New York. Based on my conversations with Maria, the general sense was that he wanted to help with my education.
I met him in 1995, right around New Year’s. He was kind of charming, but not as formal as I would have expected. There was a lot of grooming in that meeting: buying us tickets to the theater, sending a limousine to pick up Maria and me. We sawThe Phantom of the Opera.I think we had Champagne with him before the show. He was interesting and fun to talk to, and he kept asking questions: “What are your interests? Tell me about your plans. Where are you thinking about applying for schools?” I was just chatty.
