Control, threats and forced surgery: Confession from Jeffrey Epstein's "cult"

Anya, one of Jeffrey Epstein's former assistants, has spoken out for the first time about how she was manipulated, isolated and controlled for years. She tells how the promises of a modeling career turned into a web of abuse, threats and psychological dependence.

A week after convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died, Anya (not her real name) opened the door to her New York apartment. She was greeted by Epstein's brother, Mark Epstein, who, she says, told her to leave the apartment immediately. (Mark Epstein has denied any knowledge of his brother's abuse.)

For years, Anya had lived in one of the apartments on East 66th Street in Manhattan. These apartments were used by Jeffrey Epstein to house women who he then sexually abused. In an instant, she lost her home, but at the same time managed to escape a nightmare that had lasted for years.

"I still find it hard to accept that I was abused for so long," Anya says. "I wasn't chained up or locked in a basement. But the chains were invisible. They existed and kept me under control."

According to her, Epstein often said that the system he had built was "like a cult, and he was its leader."

Anya has told the BBC about her life as one of Epstein's "assistants". She explains how he managed to keep many of his victims under control for years.

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The “assistants” were a group of women — about a dozen at a time, according to Anya. They lived in Epstein’s apartments, worked at all hours of the day on his orders, and were often victims of sexual abuse.

Anya says that at first the women were lured in with promises of jobs and a better life. Then, Epstein gradually began to control them in almost every aspect of their lives. He took advantage of their weaknesses and made them increasingly dependent on him.

According to her, he controlled their money, decided who they could date and constantly humiliated them psychologically. He was also obsessed with their physical appearance. Anya says he forced her to undergo unnecessary surgery, which left permanent damage to her body.

Anya's experience is also supported by Sarah Kellen, another former Epstein aide. During her testimony before the US House Oversight Committee, she said that Epstein presented himself as the man who would save her and solve her problems. "He was very capable of destroying your ability to make your own decisions and maintain your independence. Over time, you became more and more dependent on him," she said.

According to Dr. Tara Quinn-Cirillo, a clinical psychologist who has worked with victims of coercive control, there is a misconception that only children fall prey to such manipulation. In fact, adults can be manipulated and controlled in the same way. “Even an adult can fall prey to this process of manipulation, especially when they are in a difficult or vulnerable situation,” she explains.

A long process of manipulation

This was just the beginning of a long process of manipulation, lasting for many months. Jeffrey Epstein held Anya up with false hopes and promises he had no intention of keeping.

For nearly a year, Anya says she worked out every day with dedication to achieve the physical appearance Epstein wanted. Lesley Groff, his executive assistant who managed his schedule, would email her constantly asking for updates on her progress. Meanwhile, Epstein would constantly ask for pictures and tell her not to be “embarrassed” when he asked her to send him nude photos.

Finally, Epstein arranged a meeting between Anya and Faith Kates, co-founder of the modeling agency Next Management, as he had promised. According to Anya, the meeting lasted less than 30 minutes and at the end she was told that Epstein himself would communicate the outcome to her.

Epstein then told her that the agency didn't want to take her on because she "wasn't good enough for the New York market." He also added that she was "not in good physical shape."

Anya says she felt disappointed and lost confidence. It was then that Epstein invited her to visit him in Palm Beach, Florida, where he was serving his sentence but was allowed out during the day. According to her, he justified himself by saying that he was sentenced because a girl had deceived him using a fake ID.

To meet him, Anya had to register her name in a register kept by a uniformed police officer. Once inside, Epstein took her to a room in the back of the building, where, she says, he sexually abused her for the first time. At least two other women have come forward to say that Epstein sexually abused them while he was serving his sentence.

After the abuse, Epstein kicked her out of the room and, according to Anya, began joking with other assistants waiting outside, saying she was “so embarrassing.” They laughed, which made Anya blame herself.

"I started to think that maybe nothing wrong had happened. Maybe it was my reaction that was the problem," she recalls. "I thought maybe it was the way I had been raised in Russia, or the fact that my parents had been very strict. I believed that there was something wrong with me, not with him."

It was only after the Epstein case documents were released that Anya said she realized what had really happened. The emails revealed that, although she had met Faith Kates in person, she had been rejected as a modeling candidate a year earlier.

At that moment, Anya realized that Epstein had been holding her up to false hope for months and that it had all been part of a carefully thought-out plan to manipulate her. When she had become emotionally vulnerable, isolated, and distant from her family, he had taken advantage of the situation.

According to clinical psychologist Tara Quinn-Cirillo, this type of slow, steady manipulation is designed to avoid arousing suspicion or a sense of danger in the victim. “It’s like an invisible plane that flies by without being detected by radar,” she explains.

Faith Kates' lawyer said any claim that his client knew of or was involved in Epstein's sex trafficking is false and defamatory. He said the claim that Epstein would have informed Anya of the agency's decision is "unusual, unsubstantiated and without supporting evidence."

The statement also said that Next Management made its own decisions on accepting or rejecting models and did not seek Epstein's approval for these decisions. The company added that it is perfectly normal for a potential model to be reviewed and rejected by an agency, even more than once.

In another response, Next Management stated that the company had no relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and that any alleged actions by Faith Kates were her personal responsibility.

"Come work for me"

Even then, Epstein continued to promise Anya a career as a model. He introduced her to Jean-Luc Brunel, the founder of the MC2 agency. Anya says Epstein did not tell her that he was one of the agency's financiers. (MC2's offices in Miami and New York have since closed. The founder of the branch that continues to operate in Israel has previously stated that he had no connection to Epstein.)

According to Anya, she received “hardly any” job offers from this agency. Her agent told her she would be going to Palm Beach for a direct modeling job. But when she got there, there was no photo shoot. Instead, Epstein sexually abused her again.

After a while, Epstein told her that modeling wasn't the right path for her. He told her that the industry had declined and there were no more opportunities.

Then he made him another offer.

"Come work for me. I'll teach you real business. You'll travel and meet important people all over the world."

But working as an assistant wasn't what Anya had imagined. She says Epstein taught her nothing about the business.

Most of the time she just waited for him to give her some task. In the meantime, he would scold her for not doing anything, according to him.

From time to time he would give her small jobs. To answer the phone. To escort visitors to the meeting room. Or to announce the arrival of a guest.

However, Anya says that the assistants had to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One day she went out to lunch to meet someone. According to her, Epstein became very angry. He called her repeatedly and told her she couldn't leave the house without his permission.

Anya was completely dependent on him. If she got sick and needed a doctor, he would tell her:

"I am your health insurance."

She had no bank account. She didn't even have the necessary documents to rent an apartment. However, according to her, Epstein pulled her out of her Manhattan apartment several times and told her:

"Find yourself where you'll stay."

For Anya, these were clear ways to keep her under control.

She says that Epstein only started paying her a small salary after a few years. The reason was that her work visa required it. He often told her:

"Don't worry. I will always take care of you."

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According to her, throughout this period the sexual abuse continued.

Sarah Kellen also described a similar situation to American lawmakers.

"I had no money. I had no family around. I had no education. I didn't even believe I deserved a better life," she said.

Meanwhile, Epstein constantly showed off his power and connections to important people.

"Jeffrey made sure I understood that if I opposed him, it would cost me my life," Kellen testified.

"You will never dare to go against me"

In one case, one of the assistants escaped. This is what Anya recalls. According to her, the woman called her during the escape. This scared her, because Epstein owned their phones and monitored their calls.

Anya says Epstein hired a private investigator to find the woman. He even showed her an email listing the expenses he said she owed him. The amount came to $700.

The message was clear.

"If you leave, you'll owe me money. And I'll find you anywhere to get it."

But this was not the only means of control.

Anya says Epstein collected compromising material about women. He often reminded her that he had nude photos of her.

Once, he gathered all the assistants for a photo shoot. He encouraged them to take off their shirts and dance with smiles on their faces. He told them that everything was being filmed.

Anya remembers that he told them:

"That's how I know you'll never turn against me."

According to her, he implied that, if they denounced him, he could use the video to claim that everything had happened with their consent.

"This was his evidence archive," she says.

Epstein also forced his assistants to write him thank-you letters. They were supposed to thank him with warm words, despite the fact that he was their abuser.

"I was so scared that I thought I wasn't thanking him enough," Anya recalls.

She believes that these letters were also another form of control.

"If you thank me constantly, how can you then turn against me?"

According to her, Epstein would pit women against each other. He would tell her that another assistant was angry with her because she was “useless” and “lazy.” He would then add that he was the only one who protected her and was her “biggest supporter.”

In this way, the women did not build trust among themselves. This made it easier to control them.

During the interview with the BBC, Anya lifted her blouse and showed several scars on her stomach. She then showed old photos from her time as a model. They showed a small tattoo that she had gotten when she was a teenager.

According to her, Epstein wanted the tattoo removed. A doctor came to his home to perform the procedure.

But Epstein didn't want laser treatment because it would take too long. Instead, he suggested that the doctor cut away the area of ​​skin where the tattoo was located.

"Only I could think of such a thing," Anya remembers him telling her.

She says she underwent surgery. The procedure left visible scars. A year later, Epstein forced her to repeat the procedure because he was not satisfied with the result.

A whole network of abuse

Anya says the hardest part of her experience was having to recruit other women. As she talks about it, her eyes fill with tears.

According to her, each assistant had to bring at least one other girl. Epstein asked them to find new wives, just like she had been.

"Whether it's one, or ten. The moment you do it, you feel part of what's happening."

Anya says she decided to speak out publicly to help people understand how many women fell into Epstein's trap. She wants to show that his network didn't just exploit minors, but adult women as well.

"He created a whole system of abuse that worked only for his own interests," she says.

"When you see influential people, like Bill Gates, going to his house for dinner and shaking his hand, you start to ask yourself: who am I to question him? Who am I to speak up? It gave legitimacy to what was happening."

Both Anya and Sarah Kellen later received compensation from the Jeffrey Epstein Victims Compensation Fund. This fund was created to financially support survivors. To benefit, they had to present evidence to support their testimony.

"While he was alive, I didn't tell anyone about what had happened to me," says Anya.

Today she hopes that her story will help even one woman leave an abusive relationship.

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"I'm not special at all," she says.

"I just found the strength to carry on and survive. If I did it, you can do it too."