Dani Benski — a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein, the most prolific and infamous sexual predator in American history — gripped a large white book inside a shadowy Tribeca art gallery on Monday afternoon and stepped up to a podium. She was being live-streamed across the world, and her next few words would send onlookers into an emotional tailspin.
Benski was the first speaker in a 24-hour broadcast. Epstein survivors, advocates, and more are set to read excerpts from the widely publicized Epstein files — the massive trove of 3 million released documents documenting Epstein and those with whom he associated.
Taking place inside the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room, located at 101 Reade St., Benski kicked off the reading surrounded by hundreds of volumes of the files.
“I actually did come look at my own files, and it’s a lot, and it’s really heavy, but I think that it’s so important,” Benski told amNewYork following her reading. “It always comes back to my own child and my students. I’m a dance teacher, I was a choreographer for years, I still am, and I usually teach that age range of like 15 to 19-year-old students, and I just remember being that age and experiencing all the horrors that happened, and so we have to keep the fight alive to make it safer for them.”
Exhibit attendees cupped their mouths and appeared to hold back tears as they examined a timeline of Epstein’s depraved actions while listening to transcripts of the sex offender demanding his victims receive a gynecological exam.
Mary Corcoran, co-founder and executive director of the Save America Movement, not only helped put the reading together, but she was also among those who struggled to hear the words said aloud. Still, even as she held her face, she said it is imperative that the stories of victims remain in the news cycle.
“The idea is to create a very significant media moment to bring the American conscience back to this story and not let it flow out with the day-to-day news cycle, which Trump has been dictating in order to avoid this story. So, we can’t, we have to keep the pressure on, and we need to ensure that the American public doesn’t take their eyes off of this,” Corcoran said. “Unfortunately, the media tends to follow the bouncing ball wherever Trump tells them to go, and that’s why we have to create a media moment like this to ensure that people are paying attention, that the mainstream media doesn’t follow that bouncing ball.”
During the reading, many of the survivors got together and pointed out that they came from different generations, showcasing just how prolific and long-lasting his abuse was. Together, the women signed messages on notes and placed them on a large timeline in the years they were abused.
Sharlene Rochard, an Epstein survivor who participated in the Epstein files reading Monday, told amNewYork that she wants the public to know that books lining the shelves behind velvet ropes in Lower Manhattan represent real people.
“It’s something that I honestly can’t describe, because this is such a huge issue, and it really brings it home,” Rochard said. “It just looks like paper, books, but what’s really important is to remember that we are actually real. This is not a democratic hoax, so these are our stories in here, and they bring back really traumatic memories, so it’s actually really hard to do.”
The reading is expected to conclude at noon on May 19.
