An open letter to King Charles III – from a Jeffrey Epstein survivor

Your Majesty,

We’ve both had a very busy week. While you enjoyed the pageantry of your American state visit, red carpets, garden parties, and carefully staged moments of compassion, I stood outside the White House with a chair reserved for you – waiting. Not as a spectacle. Not as a stunt. But as a survivor asking to be seen.

I prepared that moment with care. I studied the traditions you value – Darjeeling tea, cucumber sandwiches, the details that matter in your world. In mine, what matters is this: You didn’t show up.

Your visit celebrated 250 years of America’s history. I watched as you stepped onto American soil, greeted with flower bouquets as the red carpets rolled out for you. I hoped you had heard about my efforts.

While you met President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania attending cultural engagements, mingling with those who sit in power, I amplified unheard voices, preserving stories, standing with people who have nothing, who have been ignored for too long. You missed the opportunity to be a king who could’ve been remembered as the one who stood alongside us in this pivotal moment where abuses of power are coming to light.

Is it just royal power that needs to receive glory, compliments, and a standing ovation from Congress and the government that continues to fail Epstein Survivors who have cried in silence? I went to Washington hoping we could meet for a few minutes. Is it just royal power that needs front-page news all week, with perfectly staged photo ops while I sit in the rain, my feet covered in mud? Survivors who pushed this story into the mainstream are cast in the shadow of these moments of civility and unity.

I met Jeffrey Epstein through my friend Lisa Phillips. I was offered a scholarship to study at the School of Visual Arts. Jeffrey Epstein called himself a great philanthropist and he told me, “you never have to see me again”. I had no idea I was walking into the den of Hell for two years, leading to a lifetime of nightmares.

I was abused, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I blamed myself all these years. And now, the world continues to blame survivors like myself by telling me I was over the age and volunteered to go back over the course of two years. I was vulnerable – and systemically denied an education due to my immigration status. Jeffrey Epstein used all of my weaknesses to control me, and I was trapped in no time.