‘I was a perfect target’: Epstein victim says abuse continued during his house arrest in Florida

Epstein had been operating under an arrangement that allowed him to leave custody for up to 16 hours a day, six days a week. He offered Roza a role at his Florida Science Foundation, where he had been working under that arrangement.

“One day his masseuse called me into his room, where I was molested for the first time by Jeffrey,” said Roza. “For the following three years, I was subject to ongoing rape.”

She said the abuse perpetrated while Epstein was under house arrest “made justice feel impossible”, but that she “eventually found the courage to reach out for help.”

Democrats convene unofficial hearing near Mar-a-Lago

The hearing carried no legal authority but was convened with the express purpose of keeping the Epstein case in the public eye, the report said.

Democratic lawmaker Robert Garcia said the session was held in West Palm Beach because it was where Epstein’s “crimes first came to light”. Garcia also noted the hearing’s proximity to US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

The session was organised by Democrats from the US House Oversight Committee alongside local Democratic members. The committee, which holds a Republican majority, is currently investigating Epstein’s crimes, while its Democratic members have focused specifically on scrutinising the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files.

A plea deal that enabled years of abuse

Democratic oversight committee members published a report on Tuesday, finding that a controversial plea deal negotiated by Epstein’s lawyers in 2008 enabled him to “continue his abuse and trafficking activities for almost another decade”, BBC reported.

Lawmakers heard how Epstein and his accomplices evaded accountability for years and how victims were repeatedly failed by the justice system. Epstein died in a New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.