[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TESTIMONY OF ROZA, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S
CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD''
______
HON. WESLEY BELL
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats
convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing,
``Survivors Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach
and Across the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for
justice and accountability.
On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine
Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the testimony offered
by Roza, whose last name has been withheld for her safety:
It took a great deal of courage for me to return to West
Palm Beach today, so I ask for your understanding if I become
emotional.
In 2008, I had just turned 18 in Uzbekistan when I met the
owner of MC2 Model Management, Jean-Luc Brunel. Coming from a
financially unstable background, I was the perfect target for
coercion. I was promised a modeling career beyond my dreams.
In less than six months, MC2 obtained an O-1 visa for me--a
feat nearly impossible for a teenager with almost no
experience. I did not have the documentation to earn that
visa; that was the ``Epstein magic.''
The Cage of Debt and Control
By May 2009, I was in New York City, isolated and
controlled in a manner I had never experienced. Within three
months, the agency claimed I owed them over $10,000. I had no
family, no friends, and no money. MC2 controlled every aspect
of my life: where I went, how I dressed, and how I looked.
They provided just enough of an allowance to keep me afloat,
but never enough to be independent.
The Abuse and Manipulation
Less than a month after I arrived in the U.S., my agency
sent me to the home of a registered sex offender while he was
supposedly in jail. I was introduced to his girlfriend under
the guise that she was a photographer helping me build my
pollfolio. Jeffrey Epstein was supposed to be in a jail cell
in June 2008, yet I met him in his home right here in West
Palm Beach. Jean-Luc Brunel brought me to West Palm Beach to
have dinner with Epstein in July, furthering the grooming and
manipulation. Epstein used the names of powerful politicians
to demonstrate his influence, telling me he was the investor
at the very agency that promised me a career. He spoke of his
arrest as if it were a game, bragging about girls visiting
his cell and his friendships with authorities.
Jeffrey offered me a position at the Florida Science
Foundation to handle phone calls to help with my financial
``troubles.'' One day, his masseuse called me into a room
where I was molested by Epstein. For the following three
years I was subject to ongoing rape and stripped of my
dignity. Jeffrey Epstein was under house arrest for the
molestation of underage girls at the exact time he was
abusing me. The fact that he could commit these acts made
justice feel impossible and stole my ability to seek help.
He raped me repeatedly. For months, I was summoned to his
residences right here in West Palm Beach. My agency even
relocated me to Miami to keep me closer to him, and only
after he was released from house arrest was I allowed to
return to New York, where my nightmares continued. Seeing a
man supposedly under arrest living so comfortably stole my
ability to seek help. I was scared for my life and the lives
of my family. Those years of abuse turned into a decade of
fear that I still carry today.
The Breach of Trust
I eventually found the courage to reach out for help. I
stepped forward alongside other survivors, hoping those who
allowed this to happen would be held accountable. I kept my
identity protected as a ``Jane Doe.''
To wake up one day and see my real name mentioned over 500
times in unsealed documents was a stab in the heart. While
the rich and powerful remain protected by redactions, my name
was exposed to the world. Now, reporters from across the
globe contact me. I cannot live without looking over my
shoulder. I can only imagine the long-term impact this
``mistake'' will have on my life.
The Demand for Justice
I wanted to be a doctor growing up, so I want to leave you
with this story. In the mid-1800s, a doctor named Ignaz
Semmelweis discovered something life-saving. He realized that
doctors were performing autopsies and then immediately
delivering babies without washing their hands. He identified
that ``cadaverous particles'' were being transferred to
mothers, causing them to die in agony.
He had the evidence. He had the solution. He begged the
medical establishment to simply wash their hands to save
lives. But the doctors were offended. They found it easier to
protect their own reputations and maintain the status quo
than to admit they were the ones causing the harm. They chose
their pride over the lives of women, and Dr. Semmelweis was
ignored, ridiculed, and eventually cast out.
I see this same pattern today with the handling of these
files. Releasing my name while redacting the names of the
powerful is not a ``mistake''--it is a choice. It is a choice
to prioritize the comfort of the institution over the safety
of the survivor. The evidence is right in front of us, yet
those in power would rather watch us suffer the consequences
of their exposure than do the right thing and hold the true
perpetrators accountable. They would rather we keep dying--
socially, emotionally, and physically--than admit their own
complicity.
I am no longer a ``Jane Doe'' hidden in a file. I am a
woman, a fighter, and a witness. And I am telling you: it is
time to wash your hands and finally give us justice.
____________________