'He liked the fear in our eyes', Epstein survivors tell BBC

BBCJoanna Harrison never wanted to speak about the abuse she faced at the hands of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Like many survivors, she says Epstein's assault filled her with shame and embarrassment. But after her name was unintentionally made public in the release of millions of files by the US government, she told BBC Newsnight's Victoria Derbyshire she felt she had to speak out."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," Harrison said.BBC Newsnight brought Harrison and four other Epstein survivors together for the first time in the same room. During the hours-long discussion that followed, there were supportive gestures, and as they studied photos of themselves from the time they first met Epstein, tears.In the wide-ranging interview, the survivors told their stories of grief and anger. Some revisited Epstein's infamous private island, Little St James, while others recounted "eerie" moments at his New Mexico ranch.They said they believed the powerful figures with whom he associated himself would most likely have known what was going on.The US Department of Justice released millions of documents related to the various investigations of Epstein, but some of the unredacted material failed to obscure the identity of his victims.Harrison was one of those people whose name was made public.She told BBC Newsnight she never wanted the files to be released, fearing she would lose her anonymity."It's not normal to see your abuser's face every day for six years on TV," Harrison said.She recounted meeting Epstein in Florida when she was 18, and like other survivors, she said everything began with a massage."Everything seemed normal," Harrison said. "When he began to masturbate, I completely froze. I don't think I said two words in the car in the ride home."She later recounted Epstein raping her on his birthday.Speaking publicly for the first time, Harrison said she doubted she and other survivors would ever get justice now that Epstein was dead. "I have questions I'll never get an answer to."

'He liked the fear in our eyes', Epstein survivors tell BBC

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Namibian Sun 2026-03-26

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'He liked the fear in our eyes', Epstein survivors tell BBC

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Namibian Sun 2026-03-26

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