[0:00]Jeffrey Epstein was the pedophile financia at the center of one of the most high-profile sex trafficking networks in history. For a special program, we've brought together a group
[0:11]of survivors here in Washington, DC, who are prepared to talk about the sexual abuse they were subjected to at the hands of Epstein and what recovery and
[0:22]justice looks like for them. Some of these women have never spoken publicly before >> until now. >> Does that make sense?
[0:44]>> Okay, we're going to get going. My name is Wendy Pasante and I'm an
[1:01]Epstein survivor. >> I'm Joanna Harrison and I was trafficked by Epstein when I was 18. >> And I am Jenna Lisa Jones and I'm a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's at the age
[1:12]of 14. >> I'm Shante Davies. I am a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein and I met him at 22 years old. >> I'm Lisa Phillips and I'm a survivor of
[1:22]Jeffrey Epstein and I also met him in my early 20s as well. >> Welcome. Thank you. Shante, if I can
[1:30]begin with you, can I ask what happened when the abuse began? Well, um, so initially I I had met him one time
[1:41]and, um, he basically masturbated in front of me on the first um, encounter. And um, >> when and when that happened, Shante,
[1:53]what what on earth are you thinking? Uh quite honestly, I mean, you're you're very much in shock or at least someone
[2:02]who's not apt to being able to uh have a voice in that situation and to be able to uh protect your own self. It It's almost like uh very much deer in
[2:13]headlights where you you freeze. >> And I understand he took you to his ranch in New Mexico. >> It's a very eerie feeling to it. >> So, there are a few people there. It's
[2:24]isolating. How how are you feeling? >> Um trapped >> really. >> And
[2:37]I understand he also took you to his private island. Did he sexually assault you there? >> Yeah, that's actually the where the first actual assault happened is on the island. >> Right. Did he rape you?
[2:48]>> Mhm. Yeah. Shantae, you went on Epstein's private plane to Africa and on that plane was former US President Bill
[2:59]Clinton. Was that weird? Was that normal? Was that unusual? >> So, yes, it was very unusual. I described it in my journal at the time as like the most eclectic group of people that you could put together and
[3:10]have sort of like it was almost like a camp feel because we were traveling to five different countries in 5 days. It was very much like a very um
[3:20]just a one once in a-lifetime trip and um unfortunately it had to be um tainted by what you know was happening behind closed doors.
[3:31]>> And you have some photographs I think of that trip >> which some of which you've never shown before which you you're happy to share with us. >> Sure. Yeah.
[3:42]>> So that is you with Bill Clinton obviously. Mhm. >> And you know what strikes me first of all when I look at it? This is on the plane, is it? >> Mhm. >> You look so young.
[3:52]>> Mhm. >> There's no suggestion that Bill Clinton did anything wrong. >> And then again, another picture of
[4:01]Bill Clinton. This is in Nigeria. On that visit to Africa on the way, there was a stop off in Portugal for the
[4:10]plane to refuel. You gave Bill Clinton a massage in the airport, didn't you? >> Mhm. Yeah. Just like a a neck and shoulder rub. Yeah. >> Right. And you kept a diary at that
[4:20]time. What did you write about him? >> I wrote at the time that you know he was
[4:26]kind and charismatic and um humble and a great storyteller. >> Epstein's ranch in New Mexico was called
[4:37]Zoro. It was vast. You've already told us a little bit about it and how attracted you felt there. How would you describe it? What did you see there? >> It just had a very like cold, dark,
[4:48]eerie feeling in there. I found myself a lot of the times that I would spend there just basically sitting in my room like a mouse in a cage just waiting for to be prayed on. Like that's what it
[4:59]felt like. And Shantae, you say there were photos about the ranch of ex Prince Andrew and his >> wife Sarah Ferguson. >> Did did Maxwell and Epstein talk much about them?
[5:11]>> Oh, all the time. I mean, they especially Jeffrey loved to brag about his well-connected friends, well-appointed friends. He would talk more about Sarah Ferguson. Um, just as
[5:23]far as it was very well known that he had lent money. Um, he made that, you know, it wasn't a secret and I for whatever reason he used that as like a bragging right that he had loaned her
[5:34]money. Um, and there were, you know, framed photos of both of them with their family. >> I'm going to bring in Jenna, Lisa and
[5:45]Wendy now. How do you two know each other? >> Um, we grew up in um around the same friends in
[5:57]Florida and or we spent our teenage years, I should say, our young teenage years in the same group. um in the trailer parks of South Florida.
[6:09]>> How old were you both when you encountered Epstein for the first time? >> 14. >> You were both 14. >> Mhm. >> And
[6:20]Jenna, Lisa, can I ask you what what he offered you or suggested to you or how he brought you in? >> He didn't offer me anything. My friend
[6:31]did. >> Right. She offered me that. She not only offered me that, but then made money off of me for that. So, um, you know, we all feel different about
[6:42]certain things, but she is still that demon in my story. >> Right. So, she said, "Earn some money by giving this rich guy a massage." >> Yeah.
[6:53]>> In terms of how it moved from you giving him a massage to him sexually assaulting you, what did you think was going on?
[7:03]Well, you don't expect that, right? It does start out as as massage and he's like telling you what to do and then he just like flips over and then that whole dynamic changes and then at that time
[7:13]you do you freeze and so you just buy your time, you know? You're like, I I know I'm only going to be in here for so long, right? So, you just try to get
[7:24]through it and then, you know, you don't have to come back. >> Joanna, I'd like to bring in you if I may. You have never spoken publicly before. >> Correct.
[7:34]>> I think Joanna, you were never planning to reveal your identity, were you? >> No, I wasn't. >> And did you want the Epstein files to be released?
[7:43]>> I actually didn't because my fear was with the files being released that my name would be released, which it was. And it was released over and over and over again. And >> even though it was supposed to have been
[7:55]redacted, >> supposed to have been redacted. Um, there were even times that we reached out, things were taken down, but then new things were put back up and so it's just kind of a never- ending
[8:06]thing and you just get sick of it and it's like, all right, I guess I guess it's my time, >> right? And that's led to your decision today. >> Pretty much. Yeah. >> Do you feel it's been forced upon you?
[8:18]>> I do. in terms of your name being out there >> that well for all of us. I mean it's >> it's not normal to see your abuser's face every day for six years on TV, hear
[8:28]their name. You walk in a store and you see them on a magazine. There was once I even went to my mailbox and there was a flyer with his face on it in my mailbox and that was like devastating for me.
[8:40]And so it's just kind of gets to a point where you're being suffocated and you need to breathe. And I feel that this is my way of trying to breathe. >> You had just graduated from high school.
[8:52]Yes. >> So what kind of age are you there? >> Um I was 18 when I met him, >> right? And similar to to what we heard from Jenna and Wendy, someone a friend said to you, "Look, you can make a few
[9:03]hundred dollars. Rub this guy's back. He's rich." And the first time and you went along and that first time, can I ask you what happened?
[9:13]>> Very similar to the rest of the girls is started the massage. Everything seemed normal. I guess I wasn't a masseuse, so it's not like I really knew what to
[9:23]expect. Um, and then yeah, when he began to masturbate, I completely froze. I had no idea what to do. I had never had a man do that in front of me before. There
[9:34]was another time when you recall his abuse and that was his birthday. That was Epstein's birthday. >> Yes. Yeah.
[9:46]Um that on that day he he raped me and I didn't really consider it rape at
[9:56]first. It took me a very long time to realize what happened. Um, part of it is because I had been violently raped prior and so >> by someone else.
[10:07]>> By somebody else. Yeah. >> And so when that was happening, it was nothing like the what I had experienced before. And so
[10:17]it just you almost feel like you're not getting raped. And he stopped. And so it's like you have it's it's a very mind-boggling
[10:27]um because it's like something that just lasts like a few seconds or it's like you just okay that didn't really happen. You can kind of push that down or that doesn't count.
[10:38]>> When did you realize it was rape? He had raped you. You had not consented. >> Was one of my friends had to tell me and they're like you knew he knew you didn't
[10:48]want to do it. You were crying. you had told him no over and over again prior to that. God, >> so it just it really like hit me when she said it, but I had to hear it from
[10:59]somebody else. >> There are other survivors who don't want to be identified, and I've been talking to one of them. We're calling her Nikki. It's not her
[11:09]real name, like Joanna here. She is speaking publicly for the first time, and she tells me why >> I want to stay confidential for a variety of reasons. It is very
[11:20]challenging. It's hard to make this decision. But ultimately, there is collateral damage, not only to myself, but to my
[11:29]loved ones, my children, my spouse, my family, my clients. I'm a small business owner. I
[11:40]I don't want any undue harm to come to any of them. >> You were introduced to him when you were 19 and you were working as a model. >> Yes.
[11:50]And similar to others, your friend said that giving Epstein a massage was a way to make a way to make money. That first time it was exactly what I thought it
[12:00]was. It was everything that I was told. It was a massage. And what happened the second time? >> Everything started the way that it did last time. It was a massage. He was face
[12:12]down. This time he didn't have any underwear on though. He just had a towel over him. And I didn't really pay attention at the moment to that. It didn't
[12:22]didn't cause any uh discomfort for me. Um and then he flipped over and he said, "Okay, top off." So I took my top off just like last time. started at his
[12:32]feet, worked my way up, and when I got to his upper thigh and went onto his chest, he pulled at my um at my jeans, like almost unbuttoned them,
[12:43]>> and I stepped back and I said, "No, I'm on my period." >> Which I wasn't. I lied. >> Um and from there, he was like, "Oh, well,
[12:54]some of the girls like to have sex. You should you should really think about having sex with me. It would be so great. I'd be the best you've ever had." Or something like that. And I was just like, "No, I'm good." >> And so he asked me to massage his chest
[13:05]and I remember doing that while he um removed his towel and masturbated in front of me and I was completely grossed out. And he had a bottle of Fiji water, which is the
[13:17]water he always had. And he said, "Make sure you stay hydrated. You need to you need to be sure to stay hydrated." And I did. I I took some water and I have no recollection of anything for a
[13:28]minimum of 12 hours after that. >> When you came around, when you woke up, >> did did you feel different? Did your body feel different?
[13:38]>> 100%. I just remember waking up and feeling, oh my gosh, I'm sick. Like, I must be getting sick. Something's going on. I I just I felt sluggish and like
[13:50]heavy. And then I got up and I went to the bathroom. And as a woman, you can you you feel certain things when you've had intercourse sometimes. And I
[14:01]definitely felt that almost pressure. >> Can I ask you, do you think when you were out cold,
[14:13]he raped you? >> 100%. >> Right. >> And I know that because he told me >> he told you he raped you. >> Yes. Because during the third massage, he once again tried for to pull up my
[14:23]jeans and I was like, "No, no, I'm on my period." And he says, "You don't have to lie to me, Nikki." I didn't put two and two together until I made that call on
[14:32]July 8th, 2019 to the FBI. >> Listening to Nikki, do you understand that that sort of fear that she's described? Although at times I do, you
[14:43]know, I find myself locking doors in my house that I didn't normally lock before or there were a couple of times where I would triple check that my garage was locked cuz I was afraid I'd go out and
[14:54]like my car would explode the next morning. Just weird random fears. But >> because you think what you you might potentially be targeted because you've spoken out against powerful powerful >> because I don't plan on quitting and I
[15:05]still have a lot more to say that hasn't been said. So, yeah, I I feel like um there's already been people who have
[15:14]been silenced permanently and um I don't know why that would leave us. Why would we be left off that list to be honest?
[15:23]>> Um I mean, even Jeffrey himself, I mean, >> whoever killed him silenced him. So, >> you don't believe he took his own life? >> Absolutely not. >> No. None of us do.
[15:33]>> None of you do. Do you have any evidence that he was Do you have any evidence? >> The government would have because we knew him. >> Sorry. >> Yeah. >> We knew the kind of person he was seem
[15:44]he knew. He thought he was going to walk away from even this. >> So big. He knew he was going to get away with it. >> He he got away with it before. >> Lisa, you were a 21-year-old model and
[15:56]you were on a modeling shoot with a friend of yours and you both met Epstein on his island in the year 2000. How would you describe what happened to you? I just spent the day there and uh one of
[16:06]the young girls knocked on the door and said, you know, Jeffrey was ready for his massage. And I had to always remember that phrase. >> Um and like they all said, it was a real
[16:16]massage. Um that turned into with myself, it was an assault right after he turned around and started
[16:25]masturbating and um and assaulted both myself and the other girl that was in the room that day. >> Okay. I think that he liked the fear in our eyes.
[16:35]>> I think he liked that we were frozen and scared and didn't know what to do. And I think he got off on that. And >> so the f the first time you were sexually assaulted, >> Andrew was on that island at that time.
[16:46]>> Sorry, I left that part out. Yeah. Um I met him briefly. He was in the pool with um a young blonde girl >> and um at dinner he was getting ready to
[16:57]leave and he said goodbye to everybody at the table. And that's when I was telling Jeffrey when I had met him that I had grown up the first few years of my life in Oxford, England. And he that's when he said, "Did you want to meet
[17:07]Prince?" And so I just looked up and met him briefly and he walked away. So I didn't really think much of it till a few years later.
[17:17]>> What is it that your friend told you that Andrew had done to her? Well,
[17:28]my girlfriend um she was the reason why I started speaking out because I wanted to to speak for her because she she didn't want to um because the abuse
[17:36]happened to her. And in late 2003, uh she had been traveling a bit with Jeffrey, like kind of like you had, you know, to different uh countries and
[17:47]things and and she said she went to his Upper East Side house and um former Prince Andrew was there and that
[17:56]he made her, forced her to go into a room and to have sex with this man. and she was didn't want to and she argued with him, but he she said he made her
[18:07]and she went into the room for a few minutes and then he kind of discarded her and walked out and she was after that she was just traumatized over
[18:19]the situation and she left crying and she called me right away and she was like, "You don't know who this man is." Um, and she was just frightened and she just couldn't make sense of why he made
[18:30]her do that. And when you say he, who's the he making her do that? >> Jeffrey Epstein. >> Making her go into that room and Andrew
[18:39]was in there and she was required to have sex with him. >> Mhm. That's what happened, >> right? >> Andrew denies all wrongdoing.
[18:52]>> You, as I understand it, you confronted Epstein after that. You What did you say to him? How did he respond? I had just said to him, you know, why did you make my why did you
[19:04]make so and so do that and he just like had this little grin little little grin that he has, you know, little >> the smirk >> smirk he has, you know? Oh, I like to have things on people.
[19:14]>> And I was just like, what? >> You he likes to have things on people. >> I remember I wrote it in my diary cuz I was like, what did that make sense? Have the police in the UK, Lisa, ever asked
[19:26]to interview you about what your friend alleged Andrew did? >> The police? No. >> The police in the UK? No. >> No.
[19:36]>> Should they? >> Do you want them to? >> I think they should. Yes. >> Yeah. I think they would learn a lot by uh talking to the victims.
[19:47]>> I wanted to ask you all this. So many powerful, connected, wealthy people were within Epstein's orbit and
[19:57]they said they saw nothing on the island, at the Palm Beach home, at the Manhattan home, whether it was members of the British royal family or
[20:08]US politicians or UK politicians or millionaire businessmen, they said they saw nothing. But you were there as teenagers or young women. You weren't
[20:19]invisible. So why didn't they see you? >> We weren't important to them. >> They saw. They knew what was going on. >> I mean, I knew. >> You couldn't be friends with Jeffree and
[20:30]not know what was going on. >> There's no way that I mean >> that they didn't know. It's impossible. >> Yeah. >> Possible. Are you saying it's impossible for them not to have known? Oh, I was
[20:39]explicitly told nobody's going to ask your name, but if they do say you're 18, but they're not going to.
[20:50]You have very kindly brought photographs of each of you at the age at which Epstein initially abused you. I wonder if I could ask you to share
[21:01]those those photographs with our audience. I wanted to ask you,
[21:17]Joanna, when you look at yourself then, how does that make you feel? >> Um, very sad. This girl didn't know a lot.
[21:35]>> And I was a lot more innocent then. >> And I I can see that you've got tears in your eyes as you look at yourself.
[21:47]>> Yeah. >> Does it feel like a different life? >> It does. Even my smile's different. >> I don't smell the same way anymore.
[21:56]>> Okay. That is really sad, Shante, when you look at yourself. >> This was right after when the assaults were happening. I I think I'd just come out of being in the hospital in this
[22:08]photo. Um, >> why were you in the hospital? >> Um, after the initial uh first assault, um, I went into a very violent vomiting
[22:20]attack that lasted for weeks and I had to be hospitalized for it. I almost died actually. >> Oh my god. Um, and then I had somebody actually take me out of that hospital and nurse me back to health. >> Yeah.
[22:31]>> Okay, Lisa. >> I don't know. This is hard for me. I'm I'm just looking at this picture very
[22:43]differently than I ever have before because you like triggered me because I was different here, too. This is the island behind me,
[22:55]>> Epstein's Island. >> Yeah. So, I was heading to it. Look how happy I am. I was on a photo shoot. I was with a friend. I was enjoying my life. And I had no idea what was about
[23:05]to happen to me. This is not what I looked like when I left the island. >> Right. >> Jenna Lisa.
[23:19]Um, I guess this was just like makes me s it just makes me sad for her. I was already in a broken place with my family and instead of someone like genuinely
[23:30]helping me, they just broke me more. So, it's just just reminds me how hard it was. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. one day.
[23:40]>> I mean, I look at ours together and it like breaks me because we're not like, you know, it's not just
[23:50]me and her. There's others of us >> and you obviously you look so young because you were >> all the kids. Okay. I mean, >> and it breaks my like, you know, that's
[24:02]how I remember Wendy, and she is my best friend from then until now. Um, and me being the person that helped
[24:12]bring her. I mean, we were so stupid and so innocent at the same time. It was just Yeah. >> You You were innocent. >> Yeah. You weren't stupid.
[24:24]>> We tr We trusted the wrong people. Yeah. You know. >> Yeah. Thank you for sharing those with us. What is your message to survivors,
[24:36]Epstein survivors who perhaps haven't come forward yet or those watching you right now who may be being sexually abused or have
[24:45]been in their past? >> What do you want to say to them? It's not your fault. And
[24:57]you're not the one who should feel the shame >> and dirty and wrong when somebody else did something to you. >> You're just not alone in this ride.
[25:08]>> You're not. >> I would say probably just find your voice and burn it all down until you're
[25:18]heard. until you're heard. >> Yes.