Who She Is
Michelle Licata was a student at Royal Palm Beach High School in Florida when she was recruited into Epstein’s orbit. A friend told her she could make extra money giving massages to a wealthy man over the holidays — she wanted to buy Christmas presents for her seven siblings. She is now a mother living near Nashville, Tennessee.
What She Says Happened
Licata has described the moment the abuse began to the Miami Herald and ABC News: ‘A friend told me, Do you wanna make some extra money for the holidays? I said, Yeah, of course. I’ve got seven brothers and sisters. She said, Okay, well you can make some really good money. You have to just massage old guys. But if you tell anybody, I will beat your [expletive].’ On the abuse: ‘He just laid down in his towel on his stomach. When he flipped over, that’s when he said, Okay, you can go ahead and take off your shirt and pants, but you can stay in your underwear.’ On the drive home: ‘As we’re going back into town, I was just looking out the window, crying. I was just thinking to myself, Nobody is going to want to be with me again for the rest of my life.’ In a 2019 court statement: ‘I was told he would be held accountable, but he was not.’
What She Did About It
Licata participated in the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program and submitted statements in legal proceedings. She was among nine women interviewed by ABC News for the special ‘Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein.’ She has appeared in the Miami Herald’s landmark investigative series by journalist Julie Brown and has given ongoing media interviews about the long-term psychological toll of the abuse. She thanked the court for letting victims participate ‘this time.’
Timeline
- Early 2000s: Recruited as a Royal Palm Beach High School student; abuse began
- 2008: Palm Beach investigation leads to Epstein’s plea deal
- August 2019: Participated in court victim impact hearings after Epstein’s death
- 2019-2020: Featured in Miami Herald investigative series and ABC News documentary
- 2025: Continued public advocacy and media appearances
Sources
- Miami Herald: “Perversion of Justice” — Julie K. Brown’s investigative series, 2018 (Michelle Licata’s account quoted)
- Miami Herald: Victims recount impact of Jeffrey Epstein abuse (2019)
- DOJ SDNY: United States v. Ghislaine Maxwell — federal sex trafficking prosecution
- Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich — Netflix documentary (2020) covering Palm Beach survivor accounts
- Giuffre v. Maxwell, 1:15-cv-07433 — CourtListener, SDNY civil case with unsealed records (2024)
Information compiled from public court records, news reporting, and published accounts. This page documents survivor testimony as a matter of public record.