Woman From Uzbekistan Says Jeffrey Epstein Abused Her for Years

A woman from Uzbekistan has publicly accused the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein of sexually abusing her over several years after she was recruited as a teenager with promises of a modeling career in the United States. According to the BBC, the woman, identified only as Roza, spoke publicly for the first time during a field hearing organized by Democratic members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee in West Palm Beach, Florida, a location lawmakers said was chosen because it was where Epstein’s crimes first became known. According to Roza’s testimony, she met French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel in 2008 at the age of 18. Brunel, who was later accused by multiple women of trafficking and exploitation and died in prison in 2022, allegedly promised her a modeling career. “Coming from a financially unstable background, I was a perfect target for coercion,” Roza told lawmakers during emotional testimony. She said Brunel helped bring her to New York in 2009 on a visa and later introduced her to Epstein in July of that year at his residence in West Palm Beach. At the time, Epstein was serving a controversial sentence related to his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Under an arrangement criticized for being unusually lenient, he was allowed to leave custody for work for up to 16 hours a day, six days a week. Roza testified that Epstein offered her work through his Florida Science Foundation but later abused her repeatedly over a period of several years. “One day his masseuse called me into his room where I was molested for the first time by Jeffrey,” she said. “For the following three years, I was subject to ongoing rape.” Her testimony formed part of a hearing focused on how Epstein and his associates allegedly avoided accountability for years and how victims were failed by institutions meant to protect them. Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia, who participated in the hearing, said the session aimed to maintain public attention on the Epstein case while congressional scrutiny continues over government handling of related records. Roza also said she was retraumatized after her name was accidentally disclosed in documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice. “Now reporters from across the globe contact me. I cannot live without looking over my shoulder,” she said. “I can only imagine the long-term impact this ‘mistake’ will have on my life.” Epstein died in a New York jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The testimony adds another connection between Uzbekistan and the Epstein network. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that Epstein sought architectural materials from Uzbekistan, including traditional tiles, for a controversial building on his private Caribbean island that he reportedly described as resembling a mosque. It has also been reported that U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said women and girls targeted by Epstein came from Turkmenistan and other countries, and that flight logs showed Kazakh model Ruslana Korshunova traveled to Epstein’s Little Saint...

Epstein “Mosque” on Private Island Linked to Tiles from Uzbekistan

A report by The New York Times has revealed new details about how financier Jeffrey Epstein sourced materials from several countries, including Uzbekistan, for a controversial building he described as a “mosque” on his private Caribbean island. According to the newspaper, Epstein pursued Islamic architectural elements for years for a personal project on Little Saint James. Among the materials he sought were tiles from Uzbekistan, which he intended to use in the structure’s interior. In a 2011 email cited in the report, Epstein contacted an associate in Uzbekistan requesting “authentic tiles,” noting that “it will be for the inside walls, like a mosque.” The request was one of several attempts to obtain architectural and decorative elements associated with Islamic heritage. The building itself, described as a blue-and-white structure topped with a golden dome, has long drawn speculation about its purpose. Documents reviewed by the newspaper, including correspondence and design references, indicate that Epstein repeatedly referred to it as a “mosque,” although it remains unclear whether it was ever intended for religious use. The report says Epstein drew on design influences from across the Islamic world. In addition to tiles from Uzbekistan, he obtained tapestries connected to the Kaaba in Mecca and commissioned architectural elements modeled on historic sites in Syria. An artist involved in the project, Ion Nicola, told the newspaper that Epstein consistently described the structure in religious terms. However, some design instructions departed from traditional norms. In one instance, Epstein suggested replacing Arabic religious inscriptions with his own initials. The materials from Uzbekistan were part of an effort to create what the report describes as an “island shrine,” combining elements from different regions. The sourcing of the tiles points to the geographic reach of Epstein’s network and his attempts to obtain culturally specific materials for the project. The documents cited by the newspaper were released by the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year and shed new light on Epstein’s activities and connections before his death in 2019.