Epstein accusers put pressure on Congress to release the files

A group of Jeffrey Epstein accusers are raising pressure on Congress to force the release of all of the Epstein files as the Trump administration pushes back.

WASHINGTON — A group of Jeffrey Epstein accusers on Wednesday told emotional, gut-wrenching stories of sexual abuse at the hands of the late convicted sex offender and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, raising pressure on lawmakers to back the release of all of the files in the Justice Department’s years-long Epstein investigation.

One of the accusers, Marina Lacerda, identified herself as "Minor Victim 1" in Epstein's 2019 federal indictment in New York. "I was one of dozens of girls that I personally know who were forced into Jeffrey’s mansion on 9 East 71st St. in New York City when we were just kids," she said. "Today is the first time that I ever speak publicly about what happened to me.”

“I was only 14 years old when I met Jeffrey," said Lacerda, one of nine female Epstein accusers who appeared at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

"It was the summer of high school. I was working three jobs to try to support my mom and my sister when a friend of mine in the neighborhood told me that I could make $300 to give another guy a massage," she said, choking up at times. "It went from a dream job to the worst nightmare.”

Another Epstein accuser, Annie Farmer, alleged she was 16 when, in 1996, she was flown to New Mexico to spend a weekend with Epstein and Maxwell and was assaulted. Her sister, Maria, was also assaulted there, Farmer said, and sensitive photos of the sisters were stolen by Epstein. The incident was reported to authorities, Farmer said.