Millions of documents - but Epstein's victims say they are no closer to justice

Warning this article contains language some readers may find offensive

Millions of files relating to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been disclosed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) since a law mandated their release last year.

On 30 January, another tranche - which included three million documents - was published. Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche said at the time he hoped it would "bring closure" for Epstein's victims, who had endured "unspeakable pain".

Days later, botched redactions which revealed the identities of some of Epstein's victims forced the DOJ to wipe thousands of the files from its website.

Among them were women who had not previously been named publicly, according to their lawyers. The unredacted files included emails, victim statements, nude images and bank account details.

The DOJ blamed the mistakes on "technical or human error".

"I'm heartbroken for the girls whose information was released. It's such a huge violation of one of the most terrible moments of their lives," Epstein survivor Ashley Rubright told the BBC.

Another, Annie Farmer, said: "It is hard to focus on the new information that has been brought to light because of how much damage the DOJ has done by exposing survivors this way."

"We feel like they're playing some games with us but we're not going to stop fighting," a third, Lisa Phillips, added.

Campaigners now fear that the scale of the error could have broader consequences and even deter other victims of trafficking and sexual violence from reporting the offences.

"It creates a sense that if you come forward you will not be protected," said Kim Villanueva, president of the US-based campaign group, the National Organization for Women (NOW), which was heavily involved in the lobbying effort for Congress to compel the release of the files.

Compounding Villanueva's concern is what comes next for Epstein's victims.

With the government's review of the files now over, and its insistence that there are no grounds for new prosecutions, the future looks uncertain.

"I'm sure there are survivors and victims of sexual violence seeing this happening and thinking: 'Well, these files are being released but nothing's happening. If I report a crime, what will happen to me?'" she said.

Apart from Epstein himself - who was convicted in 2008 for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl - the only other person who has been found guilty of a crime is his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison for helping him traffic underaged girls.

The latest release accelerated the public takedown of several powerful figures named in the files, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles in October following intense scrutiny of his links to Epstein. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Another, Lord Mandelson, was sacked as ambassador to the US over his friendship with Epstein, and has since left the House of Lords following allegations of misconduct in public office. Mandelson has not yet commented but previously said he was not complicit or culpable in Epstein's crimes and has apologised to the women and girls who suffered.

But Villanueva says they "give a false sense that the system is working". She wants to see more accountability.

And she suggests that the current state of the Epstein files exposes a darker underbelly. It is "symptomatic of a broken system of how we treat women - how we view survivors," said Villanueva.

In the days after the most recent file release, Melinda French Gates told NPR: "I think we're having a reckoning as a society."

Her ex-husband, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, was referenced in the files. He has not been accused of wrongdoing, and the appearance of his name does not imply wrongdoing.

But for Villanueva, there is no reckoning without more accountability. "These files are not a spectacle," she said.

Rubright said there was "a long way to go". "There's definitely not been enough accountability, absolutely not."

There is no suggestion that appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing. Many people who have featured in previous releases have denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

The so-called Epstein files were shared publicly with little or no context. Names are redacted and faces obscured. Household figures feature throughout, though their inclusion does not indicate criminality.

The DoJ also caveated a previous release as possibly including "fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos".

The volume of documentation and caveating means no clear narrative emerges. There are noticeable trends, however.

Scattered through the millions of files released as evidence of Epstein's interactions with public figures are references to many women.

They are often unnamed, identified only by their age, nationality, perceived attractiveness or a single body part, in frequently sexist and pornographic terms.

The "objectifying" language is evidence of a need for better education around misogyny and violence against women, Villanueva said.

The examples from Epstein himself are numerous. In one email from August 2010, he describes a woman to Mountbatten-Windsor as "26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy".

In another, Epstein tells Steve Tisch, co-owner of the New York Giants, he had a "present" for him – a woman he calls "tahitian speaks mostly french, exotic". In a statement, Tisch said he had a "brief association" with Epstein which he deeply regrets and adds: "I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island."

Elsewhere, similar language is used by Epstein's friends and associates.

In one email from January 2013, Epstein is sent photographs by a French modelling agency, with the message: "New Brazilian just arrived, sexy and cute, 19yo." A separate 2009 email from a redacted address reads: "[m]et new pussy yday from russia... She will send me pictures... 22 no agency." In another, Epstein is thanked by an anonymous sender for a "fun night," adding: "Your littlest girl was a little naughty."

Epstein's rolodex of rich and powerful contacts - many of them men - is no exception.

In one email in 2018, Epstein and Miroslav Lajčák – then Slovakia's foreign minister – exchanged text messages lightheartedly discussing women, with Epstein saying: "You can have them both, I am not possessive. And their sisters." The files do not show any wrongdoing on the part of Lajčák.

TV doctor and author Peter Attia also held conversations with Epstein over email including crass comments about the female anatomy and acts of sex. He has apologised and said they were "tasteless and indefensible".

Women's appearances and bodies preoccupy the senders' descriptions, whether victims and apparent victims of Epstein, or friends, acquaintances and professional contacts.

In one email, for example, Epstein sends an article about Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten-Windsor's ex-wife, to a redacted address, with the comment: "Pic of F from Friday not the prettiest site [sic]."

In a long email from 2017, a redacted sender compiles a list of biographies of women to be considered for an unnamed opportunity for which Epstein appears to be hiring. One candidate is described as wanting "the job badly. But not as pretty as other applicants", another as "not very young but beautiful and diligent, well educated and simple, not ambitious".

The attitudes towards women exposed in the files have not gone away. For Villaneuva, the failure by the DOJ to protect survivors' identities and what she describes as a lack of accountability "shows that misogyny still reigns in our society."

"There is much more that needs to be done."

For many of Epstein's survivors, too, the pursuit of accountability continues.

"We didn't choose this fight. We would much rather have been mums or gone after our careers, and him [Epstein] just be a distant memory," Rubright said.

"But we weren't able to heal in peace, so now we're screaming in public. We don't have a choice anymore."

"It's exhausting, it's emotional, it's raw," another survivor, Jess Michaels, told BBC Newsnight.

"It can be really hard to keep going, but we know we're trying to change things for the next generation.

"Hopefully something like this never happens again because of the time we've spent… trying to get justice - trying to get transparency."