1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

How the Epstein files have opened a survivor's deep wounds

February 26, 2026

Rina Oh was 21 when a friend introduced her to Jeffrey Epstein. She talks of Epstein's grooming process that led to sexual abuse, and how she feels about what the Epstein files reveal about the web of connections between global elites.

https://p.dw.com/p/59QqQ

The release of the Epstein files has fueled non-stop headlines week after week. Names are discovered, institutions are shaken, powerful figures are put under the spotlight. For most, it's disturbing but distant news. For others, it's a reopening of deep wounds. Rina Oh lives with her husband and their two sons in the New Jersey countryside. She paints. When the latest files were released, her therapists told her to limit how much she engaged with them. She took time out to discuss her experience with DW's Washington Bureau Chief Ines Pohl.

Ines Pohl
Ines Pohl Bureau head of DW's Washington Studio@inespohl