Floor SpeechUrgent2026-05-26

TESTIMONY OF ROZA, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD"

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On 2026-05-26, Representative Wesley Bell (D-MO-1) delivered a floor speech titled "TESTIMONY OF ROZA, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD"" in the House.

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TESTIMONY OF ROZA, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD"

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E492] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TESTIMONY OF ROZA, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD'' ______ HON. WESLEY BELL of missouri in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing, ``Survivors Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach and Across the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for justice and accountability. On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the testimony offered by Roza, whose last name has been withheld for her safety: It took a great deal of courage for me to return to West Palm Beach today, so I ask for your understanding if I become emotional. In 2008, I had just turned 18 in Uzbekistan when I met the owner of MC2 Model Management, Jean-Luc Brunel. Coming from a financially unstable background, I was the perfect target for coercion. I was promised a modeling career beyond my dreams. In less than six months, MC2 obtained an O-1 visa for me--a feat nearly impossible for a teenager with almost no experience. I did not have the documentation to earn that visa; that was the ``Epstein magic.'' The Cage of Debt and Control By May 2009, I was in New York City, isolated and controlled in a manner I had never experienced. Within three months, the agency claimed I owed them over $10,000. I had no family, no friends, and no money. MC2 controlled every aspect of my life: where I went, how I dressed, and how I looked. They provided just enough of an allowance to keep me afloat, but never enough to be independent. The Abuse and Manipulation Less than a month after I arrived in the U.S., my agency sent me to the home of a registered sex offender while he was supposedly in jail. I was introduced to his girlfriend under the guise that she was a photographer helping me build my pollfolio. Jeffrey Epstein was supposed to be in a jail cell in June 2008, yet I met him in his home right here in West Palm Beach. Jean-Luc Brunel brought me to West Palm Beach to have dinner with Epstein in July, furthering the grooming and manipulation. Epstein used the names of powerful politicians to demonstrate his influence, telling me he was the investor at the very agency that promised me a career. He spoke of his arrest as if it were a game, bragging about girls visiting his cell and his friendships with authorities. Jeffrey offered me a position at the Florida Science Foundation to handle phone calls to help with my financial ``troubles.'' One day, his masseuse called me into a room where I was molested by Epstein. For the following three years I was subject to ongoing rape and stripped of my dignity. Jeffrey Epstein was under house arrest for the molestation of underage girls at the exact time he was abusing me. The fact that he could commit these acts made justice feel impossible and stole my ability to seek help. He raped me repeatedly. For months, I was summoned to his residences right here in West Palm Beach. My agency even relocated me to Miami to keep me closer to him, and only after he was released from house arrest was I allowed to return to New York, where my nightmares continued. Seeing a man supposedly under arrest living so comfortably stole my ability to seek help. I was scared for my life and the lives of my family. Those years of abuse turned into a decade of fear that I still carry today. The Breach of Trust I eventually found the courage to reach out for help. I stepped forward alongside other survivors, hoping those who allowed this to happen would be held accountable. I kept my identity protected as a ``Jane Doe.'' To wake up one day and see my real name mentioned over 500 times in unsealed documents was a stab in the heart. While the rich and powerful remain protected by redactions, my name was exposed to the world. Now, reporters from across the globe contact me. I cannot live without looking over my shoulder. I can only imagine the long-term impact this ``mistake'' will have on my life. The Demand for Justice I wanted to be a doctor growing up, so I want to leave you with this story. In the mid-1800s, a doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis discovered something life-saving. He realized that doctors were performing autopsies and then immediately delivering babies without washing their hands. He identified that ``cadaverous particles'' were being transferred to mothers, causing them to die in agony. He had the evidence. He had the solution. He begged the medical establishment to simply wash their hands to save lives. But the doctors were offended. They found it easier to protect their own reputations and maintain the status quo than to admit they were the ones causing the harm. They chose their pride over the lives of women, and Dr. Semmelweis was ignored, ridiculed, and eventually cast out. I see this same pattern today with the handling of these files. Releasing my name while redacting the names of the powerful is not a ``mistake''--it is a choice. It is a choice to prioritize the comfort of the institution over the safety of the survivor. The evidence is right in front of us, yet those in power would rather watch us suffer the consequences of their exposure than do the right thing and hold the true perpetrators accountable. They would rather we keep dying-- socially, emotionally, and physically--than admit their own complicity. I am no longer a ``Jane Doe'' hidden in a file. I am a woman, a fighter, and a witness. And I am telling you: it is time to wash your hands and finally give us justice. ____________________

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TESTIMONY OF ROZA, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD" Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 26, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E492] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TESTIMONY OF ROZA, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD'' ______ HON. WESLEY BELL of missouri in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2026, Oversight Committee Democrats convened the first-ever hearing to solicit testimony from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. The hearing, ``Survivors Fight for Justice: Exposing Epstein's Crimes in Palm Beach and Across the World,'' marked a critical step forward in the fight for justice and accountability. On behalf of all the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, I rise to include in the Record the testimony offered by Roza, whose last name has been withheld for her safety: It took a great deal of courage for me to return to West Palm Beach today, so I ask for your understanding if I become emotional. In 2008, I had just turned 18 in Uzbekistan when I met the owner of MC2 Model Management, Jean-Luc Brunel. Coming from a financially unstable background, I was the perfect target for coercion. I was promised a modeling career beyond my dreams. In less than six months, MC2 obtained an O-1 visa for me--a feat nearly impossible for a teenager with almost no experience. I did not have the documentation to earn that visa; that was the ``Epstein magic.'' The Cage of Debt and Control By May 2009, I was in New York City, isolated and controlled in a manner I had never experienced. Within three months, the agency claimed I owed them over $10,000. I had no family, no friends, and no money. MC2 controlled every aspect of my life: where I went, how I dressed, and how I looked. They provided just enough of an allowance to keep me afloat, but never enough to be independent. The Abuse and Manipulation Less than a month after I arrived in the U.S., my agency sent me to the home of a registered sex offender while he was supposedly in jail. I was introduced to his girlfriend under the guise that she was a photographer helping me build my pollfolio. Jeffrey Epstein was supposed to be in a jail cell in June 2008, yet I met him in his home right here in West Palm Beach. Jean-Luc Brunel brought me to West Palm Beach to have dinner with Epstein in July, furthering the grooming and manipulation. Epstein used the names of powerful politicians to demonstrate his influence, telling me he was the investor at the very agency that promised me a career. He spoke of his arrest as if it were a game, bragging about girls visiting his cell and his friendships with authorities. Jeffrey offered me a position at the Florida Science Foundation to handle phone calls to help with my financial ``troubles.'' One day, his masseuse called me into a room where I was molested by Epstein. For the following three years I was subject to ongoing rape and stripped of my dignity. Jeffrey Epstein was under house arrest for the molestation of underage girls at the exact time he was abusing me. The fact that he could commit these acts made justice feel impossible and stole my ability to seek help. He raped me repeatedly. For months, I was summoned to his residences right here in West Palm Beach. My agency even relocated me to Miami to keep me closer to him, and only after he was released from house arrest was I allowed to return to New York, where my nightmares continued. Seeing a man supposedly under arrest living so comfortably stole my ability to seek help. I was scared for my life and the lives of my family. Those years of abuse turned into a decade of fear that I still carry today. The Breach of Trust I eventually found the courage to reach out for help. I stepped forward alongside other survivors, hoping those who allowed this to happen would be held accountable. I kept my identity protected as a ``Jane Doe.'' To wake up one day and see my real name mentioned over 500 times in unsealed documents was a stab in the heart. While the rich and powerful remain protected by redactions, my name was exposed to the world. Now, reporters from across the globe contact me. I cannot live without looking over my shoulder. I can only imagine the long-term impact this ``mistake'' will have on my life. The Demand for Justice I wanted to be a doctor growing up, so I want to leave you with this story. In the mid-1800s, a doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis discovered something life-saving. He realized that doctors were performing autopsies and then immediately delivering babies without washing their hands. He identified that ``cadaverous particles'' were being transferred to mothers, causing them to die in agony. He had the evidence. He had the solution. He begged the medical establishment to simply wash their hands to save lives. But the doctors were offended. They found it easier to protect their own reputations and maintain the status quo than to admit they were the ones causing the harm. They chose their pride over the lives of women, and Dr. Semmelweis was ignored, ridiculed, and eventually cast out. I see this same pattern today with the handling of these files. Releasing my name while redacting the names of the powerful is not a ``mistake''--it is a choice. It is a choice to prioritize the comfort of the institution over the safety of the survivor. The evidence is right in front of us, yet those in power would rather watch us suffer the consequences of their exposure than do the right thing and hold the true perpetrators accountable. They would rather we keep dying-- socially, emotionally, and physically--than admit their own complicity. I am no longer a ``Jane Doe'' hidden in a file. I am a woman, a fighter, and a witness. And I am telling you: it is time to wash your hands and finally give us justice. ____________________