For years, Joanna Harrison lived with the shame of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein. But when her name was included in the millions of documents released as part of the Epstein files, she felt she had to speak up.
“It gets to a point where you’re being suffocated, and you need to breathe, and I feel this is my way of trying to breathe,” she told BBC Newsnight.
Ms Harrison and four other Epstein survivors were brought together to share their stories of grief and anger and memories of his private island, Little St James.
She met Epstein in Florida, aged 18, and recounted how he raped her on his birthday.
Speaking publicly for the first time, she expressed her concerns that she and other survivors would not get justice now that Epstein is dead.
Another survivor, Chauntae Davies, who is a trained massage therapist, shared images with the BBC from her time travelling with Epstein on his private plane to Africa. They included photographs of actor Kevin Spacey and former president Bill Clinton, who were travelling on a humanitarian trip to promote Aids prevention.
She recalled travelling on a “once-in-a-lifetime trip” to five different countries in five days, but she said the experience was “tainted by what was happening behind closed doors”.
She said she was raped by Epstein on his private island after being hired to give him massages. But she said she never considered telling Clinton, who, while giving testimony in front of the US House Oversight Committee in February, said he wished Ms Davies had told him about Epstein’s wrongdoing.
Being included in the Epstein files is not an indication of wrongdoing, and the former US president has repeatedly said he did not witness Epstein’s abuse. Spacey has called for the release of all the Epstein files, saying: “For those of us with nothing to fear, the truth can’t come soon enough.”
The release of files by the US Justice Department brought to light allegations that prompted the US state of New Mexico to reopen a criminal probe into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, after an investigation in 2019.
Ms Davies said the ranch was where “most of the assaults happened”, calling it “dark” and “eerie”. Another survivor, Lisa Phillips, also said the range was “creepy”.
Ms Phillips, who was a fashion model when she met Epstein, spoke about his connections to the King Charles’ brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. She said her friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, was allegedly instructed to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor in a New York apartment in 2003.
The former prince, who was stripped of the last of his royal titles last year over his links to the convicted paedophile, has consistently denied all wrongdoing.
The former Duke of York was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office over accusations he had shared confidential information with Epstein while serving as a UK trade envoy.
He remains under police investigation by Thames Valley Police, whose officers are assessing the claims that emerged in the Epstein files.
Ms Philips told the BBC she asked Epstein why he had made her friend have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor. She claimed Epstein replied: “I like to have things on people.”
Survivors Jena Lisa Jones and Wendy Pesante both met Epstein when they were aged 14. Ms Pestante said that a 14-year-old should not have “the mindset of a sex worker”.
