Rachel Kay Benavidez
Snapshot
| Field | Publicly documented information |
|---|---|
| Public name | Rachel Kay Benavidez, also identified publicly as Rachel Benavidez. Contemporary documentary coverage uses her full name. |
| Professional background | Former massage therapist and registered nurse from Santa Fe, New Mexico, as she described herself in Glamour’s 2019 interview. |
| Connection to Epstein | Says she was hired for professional massage work at Zorro Ranch and was abused by Epstein. Her 2026 congressional letter also alleges grooming and trafficking by Ghislaine Maxwell. |
| Public speaking | Participant in Dateline’s 2019 Reckoning special, the 2020 documentary Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, and New Mexico commission proceedings in 2026. |
| Survivor advocacy | Named an Empowerment Envoy in Rise Survivor Rise’s Survivors Resilience Circle. |
Key Takeaways
- Benavidez has chosen to speak publicly under her own name about abuse at Zorro Ranch and the continuing consequences of coming forward.
- Her account describes legitimate professional work becoming a setting for sexual abuse and pressure to return.
- Her 2026 advocacy calls for investigations, accountability, and protection of survivors’ identities in released records.
- Her statements are firsthand allegations. Their publication in a congressional record does not turn them into judicial findings.
Professional Life and Survivor Advocacy
In Glamour’s video released December 10, 2019, Benavidez introduced herself as being from Santa Fe and said she had spent 12 years as a massage therapist before becoming a registered nurse. Her professional life remains part of how she describes herself publicly.
In their April 2026 interview, published by NBC News and in Spanish by Telemundo, Hallie Jackson and Jon Schuppe reported that she was working in hospice nursing. Benavidez said she valued that work and did not want the Epstein case to take attention away from her patients.
Rise Survivor Rise’s public leadership page lists her as an Empowerment Envoy in its Survivors Resilience Circle. The organization distinguishes that group from its advisory board. Its stated mission includes advocacy, recovery, and economic independence for people who have experienced abuse.
Her Account of Zorro Ranch
In Mattie Kahn’s 2019 Glamour roundtable, Benavidez’s account begins with work as a newly qualified massage therapist at Epstein’s New Mexico property. Maxwell was initially her client. Benavidez said abuse began after she was introduced to Epstein and that her visits ended after she refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
The April 2026 NBC interview, available through Telemundo, gives a fuller account. Benavidez described first going to the ranch in late 1999, initially to work with Maxwell and later Epstein. She said Epstein’s behavior became sexual and that he raped her. She described being frightened to speak about it and being pressured by staff when she tried to decline further visits. She said the situation continued for approximately two years and ended when she refused the confidentiality agreement.
The accounts differ on her age when the work began: Glamour reported 25, while NBC and Telemundo reported 22. That discrepancy remains unresolved.
Speaking Publicly in 2019 and 2020
NBC’s September 19, 2019 announcement named Benavidez among the women interviewed by Savannah Guthrie for Reckoning, scheduled for September 20. The network described Benavidez and Anouska De Georgiou as speaking publicly for the first time. Other participants included Virginia Giuffre, Jennifer Araoz, Marijke Chartouni, and Chauntae Davies.
During the later Glamour roundtable, Benavidez said meeting other survivors through Dateline had helped her feel connected. She described the difficult contrast between collective support during public appearances and returning to everyday life afterward. She also said she wanted to help other women and children while continuing her own recovery.
Extra’s August 5, 2020 interview featured Benavidez discussing her experiences while promoting Surviving Jeffrey Epstein. The Lifetime documentary brought her account to another audience. TV Guide’s coverage of its production panel identified her as one of the participating survivors and described the filmmakers’ decision to incorporate Maxwell’s July 2020 arrest.
In Scott D. Pierce’s August 9, 2020 coverage for The Salt Lake Tribune, Benavidez described making the documentary as emotionally demanding. She also said the filmmakers respected her boundaries and did not pressure her. Her comments placed the conditions under which survivors tell their stories alongside the stories themselves.
Statements in the Congressional Record
February 2026 joint statement
The Congressional Record for February 5, 2026, page S502, includes Benavidez’s name among the signatories of a joint survivor statement. The statement criticized the release of identifying information about survivors while other information remained withheld. It called for completion of legally required disclosures and questions to be answered by the Justice Department. Senator Charles Schumer requested that the statement be printed in the record.
May 2026 individual letter
Her individual letter on page E494 of the May 26, 2026 Congressional Record, was included by Representative Melanie Stansbury among survivor submissions associated with the May 12 hearing held by House Oversight Committee Democrats. Addressed to Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Democratic committee members, the letter alleges that Epstein severely abused her and that Maxwell and others groomed and trafficked her.
Benavidez’s letter asks federal authorities to investigate perpetrators and enablers, explain earlier failures, and protect survivors and people proceeding anonymously. It also describes the support she receives from fellow survivors and the difficulty of repeatedly speaking about abuse. These are Benavidez’s allegations and policy demands in a publicly attributed letter, rather than findings issued by a court or by Congress.
New Mexico Testimony in 2026
June 1 appearance
Joshua Bowling’s reporting for Source New Mexico, carried by KANW, records Benavidez’s June 1, 2026 appearance before the state’s truth commission. She said she had first spoken out following Epstein’s 2019 arrest and was still seeking answers. She also warned that repeatedly recounting abuse before cameras or lawmakers could be retraumatizing and objected to coverage that reduced her to the details of the abuse.
The commission’s meeting archive lists a June 1 meeting. Its investigatory work concerns Epstein’s activities in New Mexico and institutional failures around them. Benavidez’s appearance was a public statement to an investigative body, not a criminal verdict.
August 5 appearance
New Mexico PBS’s recorded coverage and transcript preserve Benavidez’s later statement at the commission meeting accompanying its interim report. In that statement, she alleged that Epstein and Maxwell had deceived and abused her at Zorro Ranch and exploited her commitment to her career. She urged authorities to turn the information in released files into investigative action. The Associated Press’s contemporaneous report dates this appearance to August 5, 2026.
The same PBS report distinguishes the legislative commission from the New Mexico attorney general’s criminal investigation. It also reports the federal government’s stated reason for withholding some requested records: court orders and survivor privacy. Those explanations and the survivors’ objections form part of the dispute over access to the files.
Documented Public Record
| Date | Record or appearance | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| September 19, 2019 | NBC News press release for Reckoning | The network publicly named Benavidez as a participant in its September 20 special. |
| December 10, 2019 | Glamour video and transcript | Her first-person professional introduction. |
| August 5, 2020 | Extra interview | A named interview connected to the Lifetime documentary. |
| February 5, 2026 | CREC-2026-02-05-pt1-PgS501-2, page S502 | Her name on a joint survivor statement. |
| May 26, 2026 | CREC-2026-05-26-pt1-PgE493-2, page E494 | Her individual letter included with submissions from the May 12 hearing. |
| June 1, 2026 | New Mexico truth commission appearance | Public advocacy and comments about the personal cost of recounting abuse. |
| August 5, 2026 | New Mexico commission testimony recorded by PBS | Her statement accompanying the commission’s interim report. |
| Current public listing | Rise Survivor Rise leadership page | Her listed role as an Empowerment Envoy. |
The Justice Department’s June 28, 2022 sentencing announcement documents Maxwell’s 20-year sentence following her conviction for crimes involving minors. That criminal judgment is separate from the individual allegations Benavidez has made in interviews and letters. None of the records listed above establishes a court judgment deciding her particular account.
Sources and Further Reading
- NBC News, Reckoning announcement, September 19, 2019
- Glamour, video interview and transcript, December 10, 2019
- Mattie Kahn, Glamour survivor roundtable, December 11, 2019 UK edition
- Jenn Lahmers, Extra interview, August 5, 2020
- Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, August 9, 2020
- TV Guide, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein production panel
- Congressional Record, February 5, 2026, S502
- Congressional Record, May 26, 2026, E493 and E494
- Hallie Jackson and Jon Schuppe, NBC News interview, Telemundo edition, April 20, 2026
- Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico via KANW, June 2, 2026
- New Mexico PBS, New Mexico in Focus, Season 20 Episode 6
- Savannah Peters, Associated Press, August 5, 2026
- Rise Survivor Rise, Who We Are
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, June 28, 2022
Epstein-data’s Hear from the Survivors directory also provides an entry for Benavidez and an interview link. The directory is credited as a research aid; the documentary descriptions, testimony, and statements above are attributed to their original publishers and public records.