Epstein survivor ‘thought she was going to die’ as paedo ‘started touching her’ | World | News
Convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein left a young woman in fear for her life after cornering and groping her on his private jet. Speaking in a chilling interview, Juliette Bryant feared she would never see her family again when Epstein began abusing her hours after hiring her as a 20-year-old aspiring model from Cape Town.
Ms Bryant, now 43, said: Sky News He arrived from South Africa in 2002 with the promise of a wonderful new life that would help his struggling family. Three weeks after meeting Epstein with former US President Bill Clinton and actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker at a restaurant in Cape Town, she boarded a plane to New York for her first trip abroad.
A few hours after landing, he was flown to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and put on Epstein’s private jet to the Caribbean. Ms Bryant said: “He patted the chair next to him and I went and sat there. As the plane was taking off he started to forcefully touch me between my legs.
“I was scared. Suddenly I realized, oh my God, my family will never see me again. These people could kill me.”
The women who hired him in Cape Town laughed when he panicked. Bryant said: “It was like I was invisibly handcuffed. Invisible chains are a good way to put it.”
He flew by helicopter to one of Epstein’s Caribbean islands. His passport was taken and there was no way out. Ms Bryant said: “I’m not strong enough to swim away.” In the following days and weeks, Epstein raped her repeatedly and summoned her to his room after meals while he was “working.”
Ms. Bryant spent hours alone by the pool or reading a book. She found disposable cameras and took photos that alternated between radiant smiles with other young women and haunting images of loneliness.
She said she never moved on to other men, but fell prey to the psychological pressure exerted by Epstein.
Even after returning to Cape Town, he continued to fly with her agreement to her properties in New York, Palm Beach, Paris and New Mexico, where he met girls from Brazil, Romania, France and Spain. She never told her family what was happening until Epstein’s death in 2019.
Emails in the Epstein files show young women were still being taken from Cape Town to London, Atlanta and New York as late as 2018.
When the latest US court files were released, Ms Bryant’s unredacted emails to Epstein were also released. They show that he supported him before his plea deal in 2008 and remained in contact with him until 2017.
Ms Bryant said: “Whenever I emailed it was always when I had been drinking or had a bit of a meltdown. I always felt like he was watching me. The man was taking over my mind in a terrifying way.”
Today, Ms. Bryant says she is trying to piece together the scale of Epstein’s operation while struggling with constant reminders of her abuser.
He explained: “I look at Facebook, I see Epstein’s face. I look at X, I see Epstein’s face. I look at the news, there it is again. There are times when it makes me feel physically sick.”
