NEWS
Epstein truth-finding panel hears victim testimony
Commission also issued 14 subpoenas to state, federal agencies, two banks
Published
SANTA FE 鈥� A truth-finding commission probing sexual abuse allegations at Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch issued 14 subpoenas Monday to a variety of institutions and heard testimony from victims and family members.
Speakers on Monday included Rachel Benavidez, a New Mexico woman who has spoken publicly about her sexual abuse by the-late financier and convicted sex offender after she was hired as a massage therapist at Epstein's 7,500-acre ranch in southern Santa Fe County.
"In 2019, when Jeffrey Epstein was arrested, I spoke out about the sexual abuse and crimes he committed against me," Benavidez told lawmakers. "I am here again today in 2026, as a 52-year-old woman, speaking out and trying to find truth and justice, and still no answers."
Also testifying before the four-member New Mexico House commission were the brother and sister-in-law of the-late Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who spoke extensively about her sexual abuse at Zorro Ranch and elsewhere.
The three who spoke to New Mexico lawmakers during the one-hour hearing urged New Mexico to take action to provide justice for Epstein's victims.
"New Mexico now stands at a crossroad," said Sky Roberts, Roberts Guiffre's brother. "This state can either repeat the failure we have already witnessed across institutions and protect power over people, or New Mexico can lead."
Roberts said prosecutors have the evidence and testimony they need to pursue criminal action against perpetrators, although he did not specifically name anyone who should face prosecution.
"There are real investigatory leads in these files," he said. "There are real investigatory leads within survivor testimony."
The four House members who make up the truth-finding committee said Monday that any criminal prosecutions will be pursued by the New Mexico Department of Justice, which in March announced that it had reopened its investigation into Zorro Ranch. They said they would publicly identify wrongdoers by name once the panel and their attorneys had established legal culpability.
"This commission will build a complete documented public record," said state Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, a former state prosecutor. "We will name who was responsible and we will do so with the evidentiary rigor that survivors deserve."
The commission approved issuing subpoenas for 14 state and federal agencies, two banks, the estate of Jeffery Epstein, the Santa Fe Institute and the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office, seeking records related to Zorro Ranch.
Agencies included the U.S. Department of Justice, the New Mexico Department of Justice, the New Mexico Governor's Office, the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, the New Mexico State Land Commission, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Mexico.
It also issued a subpoena for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which asked the New Mexico Department of Justice to halt its own investigation into Zorro Ranch in 2019.
