Epstein Survivor ‘Horribly Distressed’ After DOJ's Latest Blunder

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released a new batch of the Epstein Files in early March, but once again failed to protect the privacy of abuse victims. Several names were left unredacted in the newly declassified documents, repeating the same mistake seen in earlier releases.

According to MS NOW, the new set, comprising about 20 files, exposed the identities of at least 21 victims of Jeffrey Epstein. Danielle Bensky, an Epstein survivor whose name was left unredacted in earlier batches as well, has now expressed disappointment over the repeated disregard for her privacy.

In an interview, Bensky said she is distressed by the situation. She highlighted that despite multiple requests to redact victims’ names from the files, the Justice Department has failed to do so.

“It's horribly distressing for survivors because, you know, we've had so many conversations with the Democrats, the Republicans. We're in offices, and we're constantly saying how important the redaction process is and getting it right is,” Bensky said.

The survivor added that the repeated exposure of her name in the files is ‘beyond frustrating’ as she has to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. When asked whether she believes the DOJ was inadvertently making these errors, Bensky said she wants to believe the department is operating in good faith, but is not able to.

“I really want to believe that. I start to feel like a conspiracy theorist because I'm like, there's no way, right? But it does feel like it has to be a choice at some point because there were so many redactions in that document,” Bensky said.

She went on to add that it has become exhausting to consistently fight for redactions while the ‘the systems have really failed us time and time again.’ The victim further said, “The world shouldn't have access to these private conversations about abuse. And so it's just exhausting to constantly tell lawmakers that.”

Bensky has been a vocal advocate for the full release of the Epstein Files in recent years. According to her, she was repeatedly abused by Epstein when she was 17 years old in 2004.

The victim was waiting to use the bathroom at a nightclub in New York when a woman approached her and asked her if she could massage her ‘lovely’ and ‘wealthy’ client, Epstein. Bensky, who was working odd jobs at the time to pay for her ballet school, agreed to the proposal as she did not suspect anything unusual.

However, the massage sessions soon turned into abuse, and Bensky says Epstein repeatedly assaulted her for more than a year. She alleges that he used her mother’s illness, a brain tumor, as leverage.

According to Bensky, Epstein told her he would help her mother get treatment in exchange for s—-- favors. Despite her name being left unredacted from the files, she continues to fight for transparency in the case and wants justice for victims.