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

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On 2026-05-26, Representative Summer L. Lee (D-PA-12) delivered a floor speech titled "TESTIMONY OF MS. DANI BENSKY, "SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD" in the House.

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TESTIMONY OF MS. DANI BENSKY, "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 E490] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TESTIMONY OF MS. DANI BENSKY, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD'' ______ HON. SUMMER L. LEE of pennsylvania in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania. 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 Ms. Dani Bensky: Hello, my name is Dani Bensky, I was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in 2004-05. That was 8 years after the FBI was first alerted. Although my abuse is nowhere near ``easy'' to discuss and I live with diagnosed PTSD from that experience, my story is one of the safest to tell. The key abuser who caused me physical harm is dead. It's imperative to understand that the stories that you are hearing today are a tiny fraction of the whole. I am one of more than 1,200 girls and women, and each story is unique. I don't face the same level of threats of defamation lawsuits and serious risks to my health and physical safety as some of my survivor sisters do. The main perpetrator in my story is no longer in a position of power. While there are co-conspirators who need to be held accountable for the parts they played in the operation of my abuse, I was trafficked only to Epstein, which was unfortunately not the case for so many others. I'm here to tell you my story, which happens to fall in the middle of the 30 years of the Epstein timeline. I was groomed prior to meeting Jeffrey Epstein. I grew up in the dance world. Perfectionism and body image issues ran rampant in a world built on hierarchy and at times, secrecy. Older teachers, artistic directors, and company members had unique access to young dancers. I was accustomed to private lessons with a ballet mistress that I was not allowed to tell anyone about. The secrecy was because she hand selected dancers to develop. I would go to her apartment, strip off my sweatpants to my leotard and tights and have my body be criticized, critiqued, and manipulated, not so different from what I initially experienced with Jeffrey. I was trafficked to Jeffrey. It happened in broad daylight on Manhattan's Upper East Side. I had two recruiters, one was a late teen, the other was only 15 years old and just trying to escape her own abuse and make it for herself. There was a process of systematic manipulation. Jeffrey weaponized my aspirations and dreams by speaking the language of dance, making false promises, and continuing to prey on my body image issues. My mom had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. I had seen the name ``Epstein'' listed on a donor wall and believed that his wealth and power had come from the medical profession. I brought him her scans. I was hoping to understand her diagnosis. He told me that he could help ensure the best doctors and care, or he could have it taken away. He held my mother's brain scans over me, giving me an ultimatum: either recruit more girls or do more for him. I didn't recruit anyone and instead endured the abuse. In May of 2005 my mother had a successful operation at Mount Sinai to remove the tumor. Jeffrey was not in charge of her care, nor did he provide financial support for her surgery. Once my mother was rehabilitated, and I knew she would live, I finally extricated myself from Jeffrey Epstein and his web. The Epstein case demonstrates that institutional systems have failed survivors time and time again. I was first subpoenaed in 2008 for an interview. I was truly terrified entering the FBI. I was just 20 years old and without a victim's rights advocate or a lawyer; I didn't know I was entitled to those protections. No one told me I was safe, and many parts of the interview felt like an interrogation. Jeffrey had already threatened my friend, and he had told me that I would be charged with prostitution if I ever interacted with law enforcement. That thought was pervasive, it sat deep in me, haunting me. Shame cloaked in fear prevented me from speaking out. To say that I feared for my safety is an understatement. He made it clear that he held the cards. If authorities had listened to Maria Farmer in 1996, when she first reported Jeffrey to the FBI, hundreds of girls, including myself, might have had a completely different life trajectory. Yet, time and time again, these systems have failed survivors. The systemic failures of survivors extend beyond the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell, as documented by the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Survivors from across the nation contacted their congressional leaders and fueled this fight. Survivors, advocates, and constituents across the country wanted to see change. Yet, despite the Act's passage, a moment in which survivors hoped and believed that we might see some reckoning, we were met with yet another harsh disappointment. Prior to the Transparency Act passing, we met with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle where we made two things abundantly clear. 1. We are not political, we are human. 2. Protections for survivors are imperative, no redactions for perpetrators. Out of an abundance of caution, my lawyer then teamed up with another law firm representing survivors, and together they submitted 350 victims' names to the DOJ as names that needed to be redacted prior to the deadline on December 19th. In that first round of documents, I saw my name in two places. Then in the January dump, there were more and the redactions were far worse. Seeing my information exposed in those documents triggers intense PTSD. There's a feeling that shoots through my body like a hot flash on a bullet and a nausea that lives in the deepest parts of my being. With every exposure survivors are revictimized. I am just one of hundreds of the survivors exposed. These files displayed my name, phone number, old address, where I worked at the time, where I was studying, and other identifying information. What's important to understand is that these documents weren't somehow just overlooked and not redacted at all, on one document my nickname is redacted, while Danielle Hannah Bensky is left completely unredacted. A few weeks ago, a legal analyst reached out to share that yet again, my name appeared in a 3rd batch of only 20 documents. After my lawyer continued to contact the DOJ on multiple occasions for protection my name and information remained attached. These documents hold disturbing, yet incomplete accounts of my abuse, and they were viewable not only by the entire world, but also by my child, my students, my students' parents, my friends, my employers, my colleagues, and my family. I'm public, however in my FBI 302, a Jane Doe who has never wanted to be revealed was exposed. She is someone I have tried to protect. This outing of survivor names does real irrevocable damage. The passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act was meant to be a moment when survivors could regain their power and finally obtain the truth, transparency, and justice they deserve. It was a time for our institutions, created to protect the American people, to, for once, side with survivors. As survivors we have said time and time again this is not political. This requires coming together and not prioritizing political showmanship. I recently had the opportunity to return to Jeffrey's mansion on the Upper East Side. Normally, when you're a child, everything feels massive, and when you revisit those same places as an adult, they seem smaller. That was certainly not the case here. Jeffrey's mansion on the Upper East Side of Manhattan still felt immense, the doors towering and the architecture looming, designed in a way to make you feel small. This reflects something deeper. Our entrenched systemic failures have allowed powerful people like Jeffrey to make others feel small. When institutions prioritize protecting the powerful and their enablers over protecting victims, individuals like Jeffrey become normalized. If we continue down this path, the question isn't whether the abuse will happen again, but who? Who is the next Jeffrey Epstein? What will be the next mansion used to exploit privilege and enable the abuse of young girls? I'm always asked ``what does accountability look like?'' Getting perpetrators out of positions of power, seeing arrests be made, and a complete culture shift to not only believe our most vulnerable populations, but protect them. This moment is critical. It is time to reform our system to protect our survivors, not perpetrators, and to ensure the truth can come to light. ____________________

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TESTIMONY OF MS. DANI BENSKY, "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 E490] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TESTIMONY OF MS. DANI BENSKY, ``SURVIVORS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: EXPOSING EPSTEIN'S CRIMES IN PALM BEACH AND ACROSS THE WORLD'' ______ HON. SUMMER L. LEE of pennsylvania in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania. 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 Ms. Dani Bensky: Hello, my name is Dani Bensky, I was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in 2004-05. That was 8 years after the FBI was first alerted. Although my abuse is nowhere near ``easy'' to discuss and I live with diagnosed PTSD from that experience, my story is one of the safest to tell. The key abuser who caused me physical harm is dead. It's imperative to understand that the stories that you are hearing today are a tiny fraction of the whole. I am one of more than 1,200 girls and women, and each story is unique. I don't face the same level of threats of defamation lawsuits and serious risks to my health and physical safety as some of my survivor sisters do. The main perpetrator in my story is no longer in a position of power. While there are co-conspirators who need to be held accountable for the parts they played in the operation of my abuse, I was trafficked only to Epstein, which was unfortunately not the case for so many others. I'm here to tell you my story, which happens to fall in the middle of the 30 years of the Epstein timeline. I was groomed prior to meeting Jeffrey Epstein. I grew up in the dance world. Perfectionism and body image issues ran rampant in a world built on hierarchy and at times, secrecy. Older teachers, artistic directors, and company members had unique access to young dancers. I was accustomed to private lessons with a ballet mistress that I was not allowed to tell anyone about. The secrecy was because she hand selected dancers to develop. I would go to her apartment, strip off my sweatpants to my leotard and tights and have my body be criticized, critiqued, and manipulated, not so different from what I initially experienced with Jeffrey. I was trafficked to Jeffrey. It happened in broad daylight on Manhattan's Upper East Side. I had two recruiters, one was a late teen, the other was only 15 years old and just trying to escape her own abuse and make it for herself. There was a process of systematic manipulation. Jeffrey weaponized my aspirations and dreams by speaking the language of dance, making false promises, and continuing to prey on my body image issues. My mom had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. I had seen the name ``Epstein'' listed on a donor wall and believed that his wealth and power had come from the medical profession. I brought him her scans. I was hoping to understand her diagnosis. He told me that he could help ensure the best doctors and care, or he could have it taken away. He held my mother's brain scans over me, giving me an ultimatum: either recruit more girls or do more for him. I didn't recruit anyone and instead endured the abuse. In May of 2005 my mother had a successful operation at Mount Sinai to remove the tumor. Jeffrey was not in charge of her care, nor did he provide financial support for her surgery. Once my mother was rehabilitated, and I knew she would live, I finally extricated myself from Jeffrey Epstein and his web. The Epstein case demonstrates that institutional systems have failed survivors time and time again. I was first subpoenaed in 2008 for an interview. I was truly terrified entering the FBI. I was just 20 years old and without a victim's rights advocate or a lawyer; I didn't know I was entitled to those protections. No one told me I was safe, and many parts of the interview felt like an interrogation. Jeffrey had already threatened my friend, and he had told me that I would be charged with prostitution if I ever interacted with law enforcement. That thought was pervasive, it sat deep in me, haunting me. Shame cloaked in fear prevented me from speaking out. To say that I feared for my safety is an understatement. He made it clear that he held the cards. If authorities had listened to Maria Farmer in 1996, when she first reported Jeffrey to the FBI, hundreds of girls, including myself, might have had a completely different life trajectory. Yet, time and time again, these systems have failed survivors. The systemic failures of survivors extend beyond the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell, as documented by the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Survivors from across the nation contacted their congressional leaders and fueled this fight. Survivors, advocates, and constituents across the country wanted to see change. Yet, despite the Act's passage, a moment in which survivors hoped and believed that we might see some reckoning, we were met with yet another harsh disappointment. Prior to the Transparency Act passing, we met with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle where we made two things abundantly clear. 1. We are not political, we are human. 2. Protections for survivors are imperative, no redactions for perpetrators. Out of an abundance of caution, my lawyer then teamed up with another law firm representing survivors, and together they submitted 350 victims' names to the DOJ as names that needed to be redacted prior to the deadline on December 19th. In that first round of documents, I saw my name in two places. Then in the January dump, there were more and the redactions were far worse. Seeing my information exposed in those documents triggers intense PTSD. There's a feeling that shoots through my body like a hot flash on a bullet and a nausea that lives in the deepest parts of my being. With every exposure survivors are revictimized. I am just one of hundreds of the survivors exposed. These files displayed my name, phone number, old address, where I worked at the time, where I was studying, and other identifying information. What's important to understand is that these documents weren't somehow just overlooked and not redacted at all, on one document my nickname is redacted, while Danielle Hannah Bensky is left completely unredacted. A few weeks ago, a legal analyst reached out to share that yet again, my name appeared in a 3rd batch of only 20 documents. After my lawyer continued to contact the DOJ on multiple occasions for protection my name and information remained attached. These documents hold disturbing, yet incomplete accounts of my abuse, and they were viewable not only by the entire world, but also by my child, my students, my students' parents, my friends, my employers, my colleagues, and my family. I'm public, however in my FBI 302, a Jane Doe who has never wanted to be revealed was exposed. She is someone I have tried to protect. This outing of survivor names does real irrevocable damage. The passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act was meant to be a moment when survivors could regain their power and finally obtain the truth, transparency, and justice they deserve. It was a time for our institutions, created to protect the American people, to, for once, side with survivors. As survivors we have said time and time again this is not political. This requires coming together and not prioritizing political showmanship. I recently had the opportunity to return to Jeffrey's mansion on the Upper East Side. Normally, when you're a child, everything feels massive, and when you revisit those same places as an adult, they seem smaller. That was certainly not the case here. Jeffrey's mansion on the Upper East Side of Manhattan still felt immense, the doors towering and the architecture looming, designed in a way to make you feel small. This reflects something deeper. Our entrenched systemic failures have allowed powerful people like Jeffrey to make others feel small. When institutions prioritize protecting the powerful and their enablers over protecting victims, individuals like Jeffrey become normalized. If we continue down this path, the question isn't whether the abuse will happen again, but who? Who is the next Jeffrey Epstein? What will be the next mansion used to exploit privilege and enable the abuse of young girls? I'm always asked ``what does accountability look like?'' Getting perpetrators out of positions of power, seeing arrests be made, and a complete culture shift to not only believe our most vulnerable populations, but protect them. This moment is critical. It is time to reform our system to protect our survivors, not perpetrators, and to ensure the truth can come to light. ____________________