Epstein survivor expresses disappointment over DOJ redactions, says it favors ‘powerful men’

WASHINGTON, DC: Marina Lacerda, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, spoke about what she described as a cover-up involving Donald Trump and Epstein’s network. She said she was disappointed that the Department of Justice released only some documents and handwritten complaints submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On Friday, December 19, thousands of files related to Epstein were made public. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting his trafficking trial. So far, only a portion of the files has been released, and many remain heavily redacted.

Epstein survivor blasts redacted files, demands transparency

Marina Lacerda, a Brazilian-born survivor who suffered ab*se by Jeffrey Epstein as a teenager, voiced her anger over the partial release of documents, many of which were heavily redacted, describing it as a slap in the face. 

During an interview with the BBC, Marina said, "It's been so nerve-wracking, uh, I think all of us are full of anxiety at this point. And you know that, now that the files are released." She added, "We feel that it is a lot of files that don't have much information in them, so we're trying to figure out, you know, what is going on here?" 

"What kind of redactions were made? We can see some of these redactions were made obviously to protect, you know, again, the wealthy and the rich and the powerful men. So, we are kind of a little disappointed with that. Expense," she concluded.

Speaking with Anna Botting on Sky News, she said, "We were all excited yesterday before the files came out. And when they did come out, we were just in shock, and we see that there is nothing there that is transparent. So it's very sad, it's very disappointing."

Lacerda shared that she was just 14 when she first met Epstein, and that their relationship, which she referred to as a "friendship," ended when she was 17.

DOJ releases Epstein files under transparency law

The Department of Justice has released tens of thousands of pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, offering the public, journalists, and investigators a closer look at the case.

However, much of the material, including emails, court filings, photographs, and flight logs. had already been made public through previous court cases and congressional investigations.

The release follows the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, which required Attorney General Pam Bondi to make all classified Epstein-related records held by the DOJ, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and US attorneys’ offices public by Friday, December 19. Personal information belonging to victims has been redacted.