More than 20 years ago, when I was a17-year-oldaspiring ballerina in New York City, I met Jeffrey Epstein.
My mother was seriously ill, and I was young and scared. Epstein recognized that vulnerability andexploited it. He presented himself as someone who could help, then used my age, dreams and my family’s circumstances to manipulate and sexually abuse me.
For years, I carried what happened largely on my own. Then other survivors of Epstein’s trafficking network begancoming forward, and I found hope in knowing that I was not alone. Over time, our individual stories grew into a movement demanding accountability. That movement helped lead to the passage of theEpstein Files Transparency Act, which we believed would finally expose the full scope of Epstein’s crimes and the people who enabled them.
What happened instead was alarming. The Department of Justice released survivors’ names and other personally identifying information. This included nude images that showed young women – possibly teenagers –with their faces visible. My name, phone number, former addresses, where I worked and studied at the time and accounts of abusewere all made public.
At the same time, the names of alleged abusers, enablers and other powerful people connected to Epstein remained hidden throughout the files. The redactions were so extensive that afederal judge orderedthe DOJ to explain them or remove them.
Just as alarming, more thana thousand women and girls were abused, yet no one beyond Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell has been prosecuted. Rather than pursuing leads beyond his interview with Maxwell or prosecuting anyone else, then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche appears to have beenhuddled in the White House Situation Roomhelping manage the political and public relations fallout from the release of the Epstein files.
Taken together, these failures paint a deeply troubling picture. Former Attorney GeneralPam Bonditestified to a congressional committeethat Blanche was in charge of the Epstein files release. Thesefailuresfall on his shoulders.
Now, Blanche is up for apromotionto attorney general, the country’s top law enforcement officer.
During my testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 16,I told senatorsthat Blanche had refused my repeated requests for a meeting for nearly nine months. Although he has said he met with representatives of 30 accusers, he did not meet with me or any of the survivors I know.
During that same period, he met with Maxwell fornine hoursbefore she wasmoved to a low-security prison. In his own testimony, Blanche claimed there was no evidence to supportadditional prosecutionsbeyond Epstein and Maxwell, despite the investigative leads, survivor testimony and other records already contained in the files.
Aftermy testimony, Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, seemed moved. He said hecould notsupport Blanche’s confirmation until Blanche met with survivors directly.
Only then did Blanche’s teamscramble to arrange a meeting, as my fellow survivors and I – exhausted from days of travel and advocacy – were preparing to leave Washington. We rearranged our schedules and hurried to make sure our lawyers could attend.
The meeting that followed was, by any honest account, abox-checkingexercise to secure Tillis’ vote. Blanche offered no meaningful explanation for how the redaction failures happened, who approved the release or what steps he would take to prevent survivors from being exposed again. He made no commitment to investigate or prosecute anyone beyond Epstein and Maxwell.
Instead, we were told to take our information to the FBI. We have already done that. Survivors havereportedwhat happened, provided evidence and retold the most painful experiences of our lives to law enforcement for decades.
Telling us to start over was not a plan for accountability. There was no attempt to work with us. It was another way to dismiss us.
