(27 Aug 2019) One by one, more than a dozen of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers stood before a judge and poured out their anger toward the financier Tuesday, taking advantage of an extraordinary opportunity to be heard in court after his jailhouse suicide denied them to chance to testify against him at his sex-trafficking trial.
  
"He robbed me of my dreams, of my chance to pursue a career I adored," said Jennifer Araoz, who has accused Epstein of raping her in his New York mansion when she was 15.
  
"The fact I will never have a chance to face my predator in court eats away at me," she added. "They let this man kill himself and kill the chance for justice for so many others."
Afterward, she spoke to reporters waiting outside the court - thanking people for their support.
"It was so powerful, hearing all the other victims and very similar stories that I have endured," she said. "I want to thank the judge for letting us speak."
The hearing was convened by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who presided over the case after federal prosecutors had Epstein arrested last month.
  
The proceeding was held for the purpose of throwing out the indictment because of the defendant's death - a usually pro forma step. But the judge offered Epstein's accusers an unusual opportunity to be heard in court.
Repeatedly, the women described themselves as survivors and said they hoped coming forward publicly would encourage other women to heal. They lashed out at Epstein for both his alleged crimes and his suicide in his jail cell Aug. 10.
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represented several accusers, read some statements during the hearing and had other clients make their own statements in person.
She said it took a lot of courage for accusers "to write statements and to have their voice heard," adding, "because Jeffrey Epstein's death, whether it was a suicide or murder, does not end the case."
Another accuser, Teala Davies, stepped in front of the microphones and said that today was a day of "power and strength."   
A New York City coroner ruled that Epstein hanged himself. But one of Epstein's lawyers, Martin Weinberg, challenged that finding during Tuesday's hearing, telling the judge that an expert hired by the defense determined that broken bones in his neck were "more consistent with pressure ... with homicide" than suicide.
At his death, Epstein was being held without bail, accused of sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls in the early 2000s at his mansions in New York and Palm Beach, Florida.
  
The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes unless they give their consent, which several Epstein accusers case have done.

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