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For Marina Lacerda, the upcoming release of US government files continues Jeffrey Epstein This represents more than an opportunity for justice: Lacerda says she was only 14 when Epstein began sexually abusing her at his new york mansion, but he struggles to remember what happened as it is a dark period in his life.
Now, she’s hoping the files will reveal more about the trauma that has so warped her adolescence.
“I think the government and FBI She knows more than me and that scares me, because this is my life, this is my past,” she told The Associated Press.
chairman donald trump legislation signed on Wednesday that will force Justice Department To release documents from his vast files on Epstein.
“We’ve waited long enough. We’ve fought long enough,” Lacerda said.
It is not yet clear how much new information the files will contain, collected during the two-decade investigation into Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse of multiple girls and women.
Some of his accusers hope the files will provide a level of transparency they had not allowed themselves to believe would happen, but the release of the documents will be a more complicated moment for others.
Two federal investigations dropped
The FBI and police in Palm Beach, Florida began investigating Epstein in the mid-2000s after several underage girls said he had paid them for sexual acts. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges including procuring a minor for prostitution, but a secret agreement with the U.S. attorney in Florida allowed him to avoid federal prosecution. He spent a little more than a year in custody.
Jenna-Lisa Jones says Epstein abused her in Palm Beach in 2002 when she was 14 years old. She did not report the abuse to police at the time, but she later became one of several accusers to sue the millionaire.
The Miami Herald published a series of articles about Epstein in 2018 that revealed new details about how the federal prosecution was blocked. A year later, federal prosecutors in New York, where Epstein owned a mansion, revived the case and charged him with sex-trafficking.
Jones said she was interviewed during that federal investigation and was prepared to testify in court.
“It was very important to me that he could see my face and hear my words, and I had that control and power back,” Jones said.
But that day never came.
Epstein killed himself in a federal prison cell in New York City in August 2019.
In exchange for his day in court, Jones and others are hoping for a public reckoning with the publication of government files on Epstein.
While the government has charged only two people in connection with the alleged abuse – Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell – at least one of Epstein’s accusers has claimed she was instructed to have sex with other rich and powerful men.
Jones did not make similar claims but said he believed the documents could outline a “comprehensive plan” involving others.
“I’m hoping they’re shaking a little bit and they have what’s coming for them,” Jones said.
filling the gaps
Lacerda, now 37, is also hoping the files will bring clarity to her personal experience, which is complicated by the pain she said she endured at that time in her life.
“I was just a kid and it’s just trauma. That’s what trauma does to your brain,” Lacerda said.
Lacerda, an immigrant from Brazil, said she was working three jobs to support herself and her family the summer before 9th grade when a friend told her she could make $300 if she gave Epstein massages.
The first time she massaged Epstein, she said, he asked her to take off her shirt.
Lacerda said she soon began spending so much time working for Epstein that she dropped out of school. The sexual abuse continued, she said, until she was 17, when Epstein told her she was “too old.”
Lacerda wondered whether the files might include videos and photos of her and other victims at Epstein’s properties.
“I needed to know—for my healing process and for the adult inside of me—what I did as a child,” Lacerda said. “This will be re-traumatizing, but this is transparency – and I need that,” she said.
what’s the catch?
For Lacerda, the joy surrounding the files’ upcoming release gave rise to emotions familiar to many women who have survived abuse: fear and paranoia.
“In the heat of the moment, we were like, ‘Wow, this is everything we’ve been fighting for.’ And then we had to stop for a moment and be like, ‘Wait a minute. Why is he suddenly releasing the files?” Lacerda said.
The sudden change in political dynamics made him uncomfortable. She wondered whether the documents would be tampered with or redacted to protect people associated with Epstein.
Others echoed their concerns, and wondered whether the government would adequately protect victims who have remained anonymous, who fear investigation and harassment if their names become public.
Jones said, “For the rest of my life, I will never trust the government because of what they have done to us.”
Haley Robson, who says Epstein abused her when she was 16, has the same concerns.
Robson was a leading voice advocating for a Florida law, signed in 2024, that would have unsealed the grand jury tapes from the 2006 state case against Epstein.
She said there had been continued anxiety in recent months due to political maneuvering over the files – reminding her of how she felt when she was abused as a teenager.
“I think it really comes from the trauma that I’ve endured, because that’s what Jeffrey Epstein did to us. You know, he was not transparent. He employed these tactics of manipulation,” she said. “It’s triggering for anyone who’s been in that situation.”
Still, Robson said she was trying to enjoy the win as long as possible.
“This is the first time since 2006 that I don’t feel deprived,” she said.