The Faces Behind Epstein Files

 

by Ava Berger, All Things Considered & General Assignment Desk intern by NPR

It’s so easy to get caught up in the idea of the Epstein files.  We all want to hold powerful people to account. I get it, I’ve read many of the documents. The details are horrifying.  But in our mad dash to point fingers, sometimes we run the risk of losing sight of the women at the center of these documents. They are real people who are no longer the teenage girls that Epstein abused. After talking to one of them, I realized their perspective can never be overlooked in our reporting.

Department of Justice, Getty Images and Library of Congress/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR

I’ve spent the last few weeks working with my colleague Scott Neuman to dig deeper into one thread of the Department of Justice documents – Interlochen Center for the Arts. The prestigious art school pops up hundreds of times in the Epstein files. Epstein was a camper in the summer of 1967 and would go on to donate more than $400,000 from 1990 to 2003. I attended a summer camp growing up, and it felt like the safest place in the world. So, as Scott and I sifted through the documents referencing Interlochen I was hoping to understand for myself: How did Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell gain access to an idyllic, well-known, and beloved camp? This sorting of the documents was the part of the job that was not very glamorous. We spent literal days reading document after document. And then more days re-reading documents to make sure we understood them the first time.  We didn’t know if the story would lead anywhere, but it's that legwork that the whole deep dive is based on.  What Scott and I found was the documents told half the story.  Epstein and Maxwell wormed their way into Interlochen’s world using his money. Epstein donated an on-campus lodge, lent his private plane to a high-profile musician, and set up a scholarship fund. All to buy the title of a trusted donor.  In accepting these donations, Interlochen unwittingly allowed Epstein and Maxwell free reign of the campus. It’s there that the pair met a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old on separate occasions, leading to long term relationships with both girls.  Beyond the documents, Scott and I needed to understand what was happening at the camp in the 1990s. So after reading the documents, we reached out to former administrators and talked to two who provided insight into the openness of the campus.  These administrators helped us understand the nuance of the story. It’s not a simple blame-game. The school didn’t know about Epstein’s predation at the time - and on a campus where hundreds of guests visit for concerts and events, it’s hard to keep tabs on every interaction. Finally, the most important part of the article was the woman who agreed to tell us more about her time with Epstein and Maxwell. She asked to remain anonymous and NPR does not name victims of abuse. Over several phone calls, she laid out a gut-wrenching narrative. One where she says Epstein and Maxwell used a small dog to lure her at 14 years old into their lives, and after years of grooming, cut her off without a second thought when she didn’t comply with their requests.  We spent hours making sure we told this woman’s story fairly. This was her story to tell and no one else's.  She told me how some survivors never want to be named and seeing Epstein and Maxwell’s faces in the headlines over and over again is a daily reminder of the suffering they caused. As much as we want to understand the Epstein files, talking with this woman reminded me that there are real faces and traumatized people behind every document.

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