- Sarah Ransome, who says she tried to escape Jeffrey Epstein's island by swimming away, said in a new piece that she never saw the late criminal financier "do a day's work" because he "was literally sexually abusing us all day long."
- Little is known on how exactly Epstein made his multi-million dollar fortune, amid reports that he had run his business from the US Virgin Islands, where he was also accused of sex-trafficking young women.
- Ransome said she received an invite to Epstein's private Caribbean island a few days after meeting him, and she boarded a private plane to Little St. James island soon after, which is when the abuse began.
- When she relocated back to New York with Epstein, she said he tried to send her to South Africa to find a personal assistant for him, but she refused and left New York.
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A woman who says she tried to escape Jeffrey Epstein's island by swimming away, claims in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that she never saw the late criminal financier "do a day's work" because he "was literally sexually abusing us all day long."
Little is known on how exactly Epstein made his multi-million dollar fortune, amid reports that he had run his business from the US Virgin Islands, where he was also accused of sex-trafficking young women, including Sarah Ransome, who was 22 at the time she was allegedly recruited into Epstein's operation.
As Business Insider previously reported, one of his only reported clients is Lex Wexner of L Brands, while the rest of his so-called "billionaire" clients remain confidential at Epstein's request. A review of 1989 court documents by Vanity Fair revealed that Epstein was also paid to help clients track down money that was stolen by fraudulent brokers and lawyers.
Ransome first moved to New York in 2006, where she says she was approached by a young woman at a Manhattan nightclub, she told The Telegraph.
"She found out everything about me very quickly," Ransome told The Telegraph. "I was so broken. I was an open book."
Ransome said her profile fit exactly the type of girl that Epstein was looking for: "girls who had nothing." He made promises to girls to keep them around, she claimed in the piece. For Ransome, who aspired to get into the fashion industry, Epstein promised entrance to the Fashion Institute, The Telegraph reported.
Ransome said the woman pitched the idea of meeting Epstein, saying "'there's this amazing guy, a philanthropist, this wealthy guy, he's amazing, he's helped me so much, he's helped me achieve my dreams, he can help you,'" she told The Telegraph. So she met with Epstein at the movies, describing him as "charming, charismatic" during their first encounter.
Ransome said she received an invite to Epstein's private Caribbean island a few days later, and she boarded a private plane to Little St. James island soon after, which is when the abuse began.
"In six months, I never saw him do a day's work," Ransome told The Telegraph. "I never saw him work. He was literally sexually abusing us all day long."
After months on the island, Ransome said she felt compelled to escape from Epstein, stealing an unattended quad bike and riding to the coast of the 70-acre Caribbean island, where she tried to swim to St. Thomas. However, she was allegedly caught by a team employed by Epstein who convinced her to stay on the island.
When Ransome said she later relocated back to New York with Epstein in early 2007, he tried to send Ransome to South Africa to look for a personal assistant for him, insisting that she had to be 18 and found through a modelling agency, The Telegraph reported. However, Ransome said she refused, because she knew what he would do to her, and left New York for good.
In July, Epstein was charged with one count of sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which could have carried a sentence of up to 45 years in prison. He was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in August, where he was being held while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide.
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