WEST PALM BEACH — A woman identified as Roza told a US House Oversight Committee field hearing in West Palm Beach, Florida, that Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused her while he was under house arrest. It was the first time she had spoken publicly, and she addressed the hearing organized by Democrats on the committee and local Democratic members.

Roza said she met Epstein at his West Palm Beach house in July 2009, after being introduced to him by Jean-Luc Brunel. She said Epstein offered her a role at his Florida Science Foundation and presented the work as help for her financial troubles.

Roza told lawmakers that Epstein's masseuse called her into his room, where he molested her for the first time. "For the following three years I was subject to ongoing rape," she said. She said the abuse she experienced while Epstein was under house arrest made her feel that justice was impossible, but she eventually sought help.

Epstein was under house arrest after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, which also required him to register as a sex offender. The arrangement allowed him to leave custody for up to 16 hours a day, six days a week, to work at the Florida Science Foundation. A report published by members of the committee found that a plea deal negotiated by Epstein's lawyer in 2008 enabled him to continue his abuse and trafficking activities for almost another decade.

Roza said she was retraumatized after her name was accidentally published in Department of Justice-released Epstein files while other names remained redacted. According to a DOJ statement, the department removed a number of Epstein-related files from its website after victims said flawed redactions compromised their identities, and said the mistakes were due to technical or human error.

Maria Farmer told the hearing she first reported Epstein's abuse in 1996 and accused law enforcement agencies of repeatedly failing to act. "The government needs to start telling the truth," Farmer said.

The committee, which has a Republican majority, is investigating Epstein's crimes, though the field hearing carries no legal authority. Epstein died in a New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.