A woman who survived being trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein says she still remembers the fear, confusion and humiliation of being abused and how the people who brought her into the situation actually laughed as she was raped on a plane.
As per reports, the survivor is 43-year-old Juliette Bryant. She was just 20 years old in 2002, a first-year university student and hopeful model from Cape Town, South Africa, when she met Epstein at a restaurant. She had no idea what was coming. “It just seemed like my dreams were all coming true because our family was struggling financially and I just really wanted to try and make a difference for my family,” she says.
How Epstein Gained Control
Juliette’s first trip outside South Africa was supposed to be exciting. She flew to New York for what she thought would be a big opportunity. However a few hours after landing, she was told she would fly on to Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean. A driver took her to a small runway, Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. When she got on the private jet, Epstein was waiting and so were the women who had initially recruited her back in Cape Town.
Reports say that “He patted the chair next to him and then I went and sat there,” Juliette recalls. “As the plane took off, he started forcibly touching me in between my legs, and I just freaked out I suddenly realized, oh my God, my family aren’t going to see me again, these people might kill me, you know?” She paused, remembering the fear. “They [the women who recruited me] were laughing. I was really petrified.”
Abuse Across Epstein Properties
Juliette says the abuse did not stop there. She was repeatedly raped by Epstein. She remembers seeing him at meals and being summoned to his room again and again. At other times she would sit alone by the pool or read books. She even found disposable cameras in the kitchen and took photos, capturing the strange mix of smiling faces of young women and portraits that felt empty and lonely.
As per reports, she says there was no way to leave. Her passport was taken, and once they reached the Caribbean, she and the others were flown by helicopter to Epstein’s island. “There was just no way of getting away, I’m not strong enough to swim away. I wouldn’t be able to swim off there,” she says.
Juliette’s life after that was marked by psychological struggle and confusion. Even after she was sent back to Cape Town, she ended up flying to Epstein properties in New York, Palm Beach, Paris and New Mexico, where she saw other young women and girls from around the world, Brazil, Romania, France and Spain, also caught in the same web.
Looking back, she says her mind feels like it was held in invisible chains. “It was like I was handcuffed invisibly,” she said. She did not even tell her family what happened until after Epstein’s death.
Also Read: Epstein Files: US Justice Department Sends Letter To Lawmakers Explaining Redactions, Says Report
