Exclusive: Roza Gilles was an 18-year-old model when Jeffrey Epstein first abused her — while he was serving jail time
Exclusive: Roza Gilles, 18, Abused by Epstein While He Served Jail Time
First Encounter at the Florida Science Foundation
Healfromzero.com – Roza Gilles was only eighteen years old when she first encountered Jeffrey Epstein, and the encounter would define her life. While wearing an ankle monitor that confirmed his ongoing incarceration, the financier was still finding ways to prey on young women. Gilles witnessed this contradiction firsthand during her very first day working at a Palm Beach high-rise in the summer of 2009. What she saw that morning would launch her into years of trauma with the disgraced financier.
Gilles had recently arrived in America from Uzbekistan after a modeling agent connected to Epstein approached her backstage in her homeland. The agency immediately burdened her with substantial debt, charging thousands for her visa and housing expenses. Overwhelmed and considering returning to Asia where she had enjoyed success as a teenage model, Epstein presented an alternative. He offered her weekend receptionist work at his office to help cover her mounting costs.
Inside the fourteen-story building, a woman was giving Epstein his foot a massage when Gilles entered. As the financier extended his leg toward the new employee, Gilles noticed something unusual—a black plastic band encircling his ankle with a small box attached, its light blinking steadily. When she questioned the device, both Epstein and the woman shared a laugh. Without hesitation, Epstein instructed Gilles to remove her shirt. “I froze,” Gilles recalled. “And the woman comes over and starts unbuttoning my blouse. She takes it off, then she takes off my bra, and then she walks out.” That moment marked the beginning of sustained sexual assault.
He didn’t stop what he was doing while convicted. He was doing the same thing.
Understanding the Significance
It would take time before Gilles understood the full significance of what she had witnessed. The blinking device was an ankle monitor, and Epstein was actively serving jail time for soliciting prostitution from a minor. This revelation came as she learned about the controversial 2008 plea agreement in Florida that permitted him to spend considerable portions of his sentence outside prison walls. The Exclusive details of her experience have since emerged, providing new insight into Epstein’s pattern of behavior during his sentence.
The abuse occurred at the Florida Science Foundation, a nonprofit established in November 2007 just before Epstein entered his guilty plea. The organization publicly claimed to support scientific research through grants and financial assistance. Survivors described the fourteen-floor office as a bustling space accessible by elevator, filled with visitors throughout weekdays. Distinctive white noise machines—white, mushroom-shaped domes—were positioned throughout the area.
Epstein developed a predictable daily pattern during his time at the foundation. His mornings started with coffee and a muffin. The financier, who frequently complained about poor sleep at the Palm Beach Stockade minimum security prison, would nap regularly on a futon located in a conference room. One survivor distinctly remembered occasions when the ankle monitor would alert, compelling Epstein to rush outside and attempt to reset the device.
The things he was doing to me hurt me so much, and left the biggest scar, and I will never – I will never be able to move on from this, no matter how hard I try.
Two additional women who spoke with CNN under conditions of anonymity confirmed they too experienced abuse at the Florida Science Foundation office. They noted that officers would rotate through positions near the entrance, ostensibly monitoring the newly registered sex offender. Despite their presence, the women observed that the officers seemed somewhat intimidated by Epstein. There was no ambiguity about who held authority in that space.
For Gilles, another significant encounter occurred one morning at Epstein’s West Palm Beach residence during the summer of 2009. She had been visiting the mansion on a weekly basis. Walking downstairs, she spotted a uniformed officer standing in the kitchen. A wave of hope washed over her. “I thought to myself, ‘Thank you, this is going to be the day that this all stops,'” she told CNN. The officer’s presence offered a glimmer of possibility that her suffering might finally come to an end, though the full extent of her ordeal would continue to unfold in the years ahead.