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Wednesday, July 22. A woman who says she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein when she was a minor has spoken publicly for the first time. Roza Gilles shared her account with CNN on the program "Erin Burnett OutFront". She says she sought to contract an STD, convinced it would eventually kill her abuser.
Hired as a secretary
Roza Gilles says Epstein hired her as a secretary at a time when she was struggling to get her modeling career off the ground. Among the tasks she was assigned, she cites massaging the financier's feet, a request that, she says, preceded the first assaults.
She tells CNN that at that time Epstein was subject to a work release program of twelve hours a day, a measure that followed his conviction for solicitation, to which he had pleaded guilty.
Roza Gilles says she was unaware of this criminal past until she noticed his monitoring bracelet. During a massage, she was reportedly asked to remove her top before Epstein began touching her and himself.
A cycle of violence
This first episode reportedly opened the door to years of abuse, described as a traumatic cycle, first at Epstein's residence in Florida and later in New York. The woman recounts staying silent out of fear, convinced she risked death if she confided in anyone. "I never told anyone. I thought I was going to die if I did," she told CNN.
It was in New York that Roza Gilles says she came up with her most drastic plan: to deliberately contract an STD to put an end to the abuse. She explains she acted on her own initiative, having no faith that the authorities would step in on her behalf.
Encouraging other victims
The woman notes that she is now sharing her entire story in the hope of prompting others in comparable situations to come forward.
The financier died in prison in 2019, while awaiting trial for trafficking minors and conspiracy to commit human trafficking.
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