Epstein’s accusers grapple with complex emotions about promised release of Justice Department files

In a significant development for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse, President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday mandating the release of Justice Department documents related to the disgraced financier. For many victims, this represents a crucial step toward transparency in a case that has spanned two decades.

Marina Lacerda, now 37, was just 14 when she says Epstein began sexually abusing her at his New York mansion. She hopes the files will reveal details about her own trauma that remain unclear to her.

“I feel that the government and the FBI knows more than I do, and that scares me, because it’s my life, it’s my past,” Lacerda told The Associated Press. “We have waited long enough. We’ve fought long enough.”

The Brazilian immigrant recounts working three jobs the summer before 9th grade when a friend told her she could earn $300 giving Epstein massages. What began with demands that she remove her shirt during these sessions escalated into ongoing abuse until she turned 17, when Epstein deemed her “too old,” according to Lacerda.

The FBI and Palm Beach police began investigating Epstein in the mid-2000s after multiple underage girls reported he had paid them for sex acts. Despite these serious allegations, Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to charges including procuring a minor for prostitution resulted in a secret deal with federal prosecutors in Florida that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution. He served just over a year in custody.

Jena-Lisa Jones, who says Epstein abused her in Palm Beach in 2002 when she was 14, later became one of many accusers to sue him. Following the Miami Herald’s groundbreaking 2018 investigative series that exposed new details about the shelved federal prosecution, prosecutors in New York revived the case in 2019 and charged Epstein with sex trafficking.

“It was very important for me to have my moment, for him to see my face and hear my words, and me have that control and power back,” said Jones, who was prepared to testify in court.

That opportunity never materialized. Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail cell in New York City in August 2019, effectively ending the criminal case against him.

While the government only charged Epstein and his longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell in connection with the alleged abuse, at least one accuser has claimed she was instructed to have sex with other wealthy and powerful men. Jones believes the documents might reveal a “broad scheme” involving others.

“I’m hoping they’re shaking a little bit and that they have what’s coming for them,” Jones said.

For Lacerda, the files might contain videos and photographs taken at Epstein’s properties that could help fill gaps in her traumatic memories. “I need to know — for my healing process and for the adult in me — what I did as a child,” she said. “It will be re-traumatizing, but it’s transparency — and I need it.”

However, the sudden political momentum behind the release has left some survivors wary. Lacerda initially celebrated the development but soon questioned the motives. “In the heat of the moment, we were like, ‘wow, this is like, everything that we’ve been fighting for.’ And then we had to take a moment and be like, ‘Wait a minute. Why is he releasing the files all of a sudden?'” she said.

She and others worry the documents might be heavily redacted or altered to protect Epstein’s powerful associates. There’s also concern about whether the government will adequately protect victims who have remained anonymous and fear harassment if their identities become public.

“For the rest of my life, I will never truly trust the government because of what they’ve done to us,” Jones remarked.

Haley Robson, who says Epstein abused her at 16, spearheaded efforts to pass Florida legislation earlier this year that unsealed grand jury transcripts from the 2006 state case against Epstein. She described the recent political maneuvering around the federal files as triggering “non-stop anxiety.”

“I guess it really comes from the trauma I’ve endured, because this is kind of what Jeffrey Epstein did to us. You know, he wasn’t transparent. He played these manipulation tactics,” Robson explained.

Despite these concerns, Robson is trying to appreciate this moment of progress. “This is the first time since 2006 where I don’t feel like the underdog,” she said.

The upcoming release of these documents represents a potential turning point in a case that has come to symbolize how wealth and power can subvert justice. For Epstein’s survivors, it offers the possibility of answers, acknowledgment, and perhaps a measure of the closure that his death denied them.