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| Sarah Ransome |
WASHINGTON — Newly unsealed sworn testimony in the Jeffrey Epstein case lays out one of the most disturbing firsthand accounts yet of the alleged sexual trafficking operation that operated for years across international borders, private aircraft, and Epstein’s Caribbean compound—shielded, survivors say, by intimi⁴dation, isolation, and institutional silence.
The testimony comes from Sarah Ransome, a survivor who has publicly accused Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell of orchestrating a regime of sexual abuse, psychological control, and physical deprivation that began the moment she boarded Epstein’s private jet, known as the “Lolita Express.”
According to Ransome’s sworn statements, she was **raped repeatedly—sometimes up to three times a day—**while being kept under constant threat of violence against herself and her family.
“It was made very clear to me,” Ransome testified, “that if I ever went to the authorities, told my parents, told my friends, or tried to leave, Jeffrey said: ‘I will kill you. I will hunt your mother and father down, and I will kill them.’”
Trapped, Isolated, and Controlled
Ransome stated she was 22 years old and pursuing a fashion career when Epstein and Maxwell allegedly lured her with promises of opportunity—only to confiscate her passport, cut off her autonomy, and transport her to Epstein’s private island.
Once there, she says, escape attempts were met with punishment.
At one point, Ransome testified, she tried to swim away from the island, only to be captured and disciplined—an incident underscoring, prosecutors argue, the extent to which victims were treated as property rather than people.
The abuse, she says, was not chaotic or incidental. It was systematic.
“A Normalization of Evil”
Ransome described what she called a deliberate effort by Epstein’s staff to normalize the abuse—a tactic commonly identified by trafficking experts as a method of psychological domination.
After alleged assaults, staff members would behave as if nothing had happened—bringing tea, making polite conversation, and reinforcing the illusion that the violence was routine and unavoidable.
“It was a normalization of evil,” Ransome said.
She testified that Ghislaine Maxwell not only facilitated the abuse but derived satisfaction from humiliating victims.
“I think Ghislaine is a very sick woman,” Ransome stated. “She enjoyed humiliating us. You could see the enjoyment in her face.”
Maxwell is currently serving a federal prison sentence for sex trafficking-related convictions.
Forced Starvation and Compliance Monitoring
One of the most chilling allegations involves Lesley Groff, Epstein’s longtime assistant, who Ransome says enforced strict weight requirements and monitored compliance through degrading means.
According to unsealed court documents, Ransome was ordered to weigh less than 123 pounds and was allegedly required to send nude photographs as proof that she was complying.
In one email exchange entered into court records, Groff reportedly wrote:
“Jeffrey is awaiting your picture!”
Ransome testified that food deprivation was used as punishment and control—a claim consistent with other survivor accounts describing starvation as a method of coercion.
A Network, Not a Lone Predator
The sworn testimony reinforces what investigators and survivors have long argued: Epstein did not operate alone.
Maxwell, staff members, pilots, and household employees are repeatedly named as enablers who enforced rules, delivered threats, and maintained silence—creating an ecosystem where abuse could flourish without interruption.
Despite decades of warnings, tips, and settlements, Epstein retained extraordinary freedom until his 2019 arrest. He died in federal custody under circumstances that remain the subject of public scrutiny.
Accountability Still Unfinished
While Maxwell has been convicted, many named associates have never been charged, and no comprehensive public accounting has occurred explaining how Epstein maintained access to power, protection, and impunity for so long.
For survivors like Ransome, the unsealing of testimony is not closure—it is evidence.
Evidence of crimes.
Evidence of complicity.
Evidence of a system that failed.
And, as the court record now reflects in stark detail, evidence of what happens when power goes unchecked and victims are silenced—not just by threats, but by institutions that looked away.
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