Jeffrey Epstein's accusers speak out: 'Look who's still standing'
'I want to thank the judge for letting us speak,' Jennifer Araoz said on Tuesday.
Six of the dozens of women who have accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexually abusing them spoke publicly about their own experiences with the financier, weeks after his unexpected death.
"I can relate to pretty much every person sitting here next to me," said Virginia Roberts Giuffre, perhaps one of the most prominent of Epstein's accusers for her allegations that she was exploited and trafficked by the multimillionaire, as well as other high-powered public figures, such as Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
Giuffre sat alongside five other women -- Jennifer Araoz, Chauntae Davies, Marijke Chartouni, and new faces Anouska De Georgiou and Rachel Benavidez -- during the interview, which was teased by the "Today" show on Twitter Friday morning, hours before the sit-down will air on Dateline NBC.
Epstein – who was reportedly worth more than $550 million – was indicted in July on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, according to court records.
He was found unconscious on the morning of Aug. 10, in his jail cell at lower Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. The New York City medical examiner determined Epstein had committed suicide by hanging.
Days later, Southern District of New York Judge Richard M. Berman dismissed Epstein's criminal charges.
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In the wake of the sudden death, several victims have filed civil lawsuits against Epstein's estate.
On Wednesday, attorney Roberta Kaplan submitted a suit on behalf of her client, identified only as Jane Doe, against Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn, the estate's executors.
The court papers describe in detail how the victim was 14-years-old when she was recruited by another teenager in the neighborhood.
"The girl told Doe about an opportunity to earn money and offered to introduce her to a wealthy man," the lawsuit states. "Doe would subsequently learn that this man was Epstein."
Worried about her family's financial stability and her sister, who suffered from what the suit characterized as a "serious medical condition," she took the chance to make some money, and in turn fell into a toxic routine that lasted for three years, the papers allege.
"As a result of his abuse, Doe never received a high school education," the suit notes, adding that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks; depression and anxiety. "[S]he often finds herself crying; she is unable to form healthy emotional relationships with men; she often cannot sleep through the night or fall asleep at all ... and she is constantly afraid for her young daughter."