Michelle Licata was 16 years old when she was drawn into Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach trafficking ring in the early 2000s. Like many victims, she was approached by other teenagers who promised easy money for giving massages to a wealthy man. She was taken to Epstein's Palm Beach mansion where what was presented as a legitimate massage job quickly became sexual abuse. She was paid $200-$300 per visit and later encouraged to recruit other underage girls.

Licata became one of the earliest public survivors to tell her story to the Miami Herald during its 2018 "Perversion of Justice" series. Her willingness to speak publicly using her real name helped reignite public interest in the Epstein case and contributed to the pressure that led to his re-arrest in 2019.

Licata was among the victims whose rights were violated when federal prosecutors secretly negotiated a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein in 2008 without informing her. In her Miami Herald interviews, she said: "We were never told what was happening. They made a deal without even talking to us. It felt like we didn't matter."

Palm Beach Police Department materials (2005-2006); Miami Herald "Perversion of Justice" (2018-2019); HBO "Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein?" (2020)

Sources

Palm Beach Police Department materials (2005-2006); Miami Herald "Perversion of Justice" (2018-2019); HBO "Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein?" (2020)