Survivors of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein are pressing New York Democrats to take urgent action on legislation that would allow them to sue his estate for damages, arguing that current laws deny them full justice.
At an emotional hearing in Albany, several women who say they were abused by Epstein testified before lawmakers, urging them to close what they described as a major legal loophole. Under existing New York law, victims are largely barred from seeking punitive damages from a deceased person’s estate, effectively shielding Epstein’s vast fortune from further civil liability.
Four survivors shared harrowing accounts of abuse and its lasting impact, calling on legislators to act before the current session ends. Some said the legal system continues to fail them, despite years of public revelations about Epstein’s trafficking network.
“It should not be a political issue. This is a human rights issue,” Lara Blume McGee, an Arkansas woman who has said she was s£xually abused by Epstein while pursuing a modeling career in New York City, told reporters after the hearing.
Glendys Espinal, a Bronx woman who spoke publicly for the first time about Epstein’s alleged abuse, said his estate has argued it doesn’t owe her a dime due to the existing statute of limitations.
“The Epstein estate has refused to help me because they are arguing that the statute of limitations means that what happened to me is worth zero,” Espinal said, choking back tears and needing to pause at moments during her testimony.
She said she was a sophomore in high school when she was first introduced to Epstein, who “tricked” her into “massages” before s£xually ass@ulting her.
The emotional testimony, which also included two other women who said they were abused by Epstein, Carine de Deus and Alexandra Golematis, came as state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) seeks support for his bill that would update New York’s s£x trafficking statutes.
Existing law prevents people from suing the estate of someone who has died for punitive damages.
Jordan Merson, an attorney for several of the victims, said that many politicians have “talked the talk” on demanding justice for Epstein’s survivors, but that they need to actually do something now.
“New York really has a chance to be a leader on this issue,” he said