Epstein survivor breaks silence on secretive compound: 'I know there's co-conspirators'

Rachel Benavidez, one of 10 women who say they were groomed or assaulted at Jeffrey Epstein’s New Mexico compound, broke her silence Monday for the first time since the Justice Department (DOJ) released Epstein files in January, saying it was not “too late for the truth to come out” about possible co-conspirators.

“I don’t think it’s too late for the truth to come out about people that were involved and helped him and turned a blind eye to his crimes,” Benavidez told NBC News in its report Monday.

“I know that there’s co-conspirators, and there’s people even that I have not named, that I believe were involved and knew what was going on. So I hope that they find the truth so those people can be brought to justice and prosecuted.”

Among Epstein’s properties was Zorro Ranch, a sprawling complex located about 40 miles east of Albuquerque that he purchased in 1993. The 7,600-acre property was reportedly central to Epstein’s disturbing plan to “seed the human race with his DNA,” and is alleged to be the burial site of “two foreign girls,” according to an FBI tip recently released by the DOJ.

Zorro Ranch is the site of several alleged assaults perpetrated by either Epstein or potential co-conspirators, and was being investigated in 2019 by New Mexico law enforcement officials before the investigation was abruptly shut down at the request of the Trump administration. In February, however, New Mexico lawmakers launched a new probe into the property in an effort to uncover potential crimes committed on the site.

Benavidez, a former Santa Fe massage therapist, has accused Epstein of inappropriate abuse after having been hired by the disgraced financier to work on the property. She has, however, remained among the more low-profile Epstein survivors, making her interview with NBC News – and her upcoming television appearance on NBC News NOW, scheduled for Monday at 5 p.m. EST – a significant development.

“When I would go out there and I would see all these girls who I thought were Victoria’s Secret models, there was no way he was doing that to them,” Benavidez recalled of her time working at Zorro Ranch.