More than two decades ago, 21-year-old Rina Oh probably thought she’d caught her break. A struggling New York artist with limited support, she had found a patron who could pay her tuition and help her build a life in art.
But unknowingly enough, she had walked into Jeffrey Epstein’s twisted world that only looked philanthropic on the surface. Back then, she had no idea how predatory it was but now that thousands of Epstein files are coming into public view, Oh is telling her story.
According to The US Sun, Oh said it began as a scholarship, as Epstein promised to fund her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at a prestigious art school. He presented himself as a benefactor with “no strings attached.” But sadly, those strings appeared immediately.
Oh opened up about an unspoken “protocol” inside his Manhattan mansion where almost any conversation ended in the massage room. The dynamic blurred any semblance of boundaries and normalized abuse, she said.
Like many other survivors, Rina Oh was also a legal adult. Still, she was somewhat naïve and desperate for a way back into the art world after her parents discouraged her creative ambitions.
Of course, Epstein exploited that gap perfectly.
She publicly names powerful figures she says she encountered while under Epstein’s control.
People are quick to dismiss it, but few stop to ask why someone would willingly attach their identity to claims like this if there was nothing behind it. pic.twitter.com/plYnfeCUEn
— IRISH PATRIOT (@irishpatriot91) December 26, 2025
Oh revealed that when she didn’t comply, Epstein pulled her scholarship and job offers vanished. New “opportunities” came with conditions that felt like ownership.
At one point, Epstein offered to donate to a charity that would pay her salary, though she found this arrangement manipulative. Oh said, “It felt like being bought (…) strings were being wrapped around me.”
Her experience fits a pattern now documented in court records and testimony wherein Epstein would position himself as a mentor or patron. Then he would conveniently start using money and access to maintain control.
Oh still says she never chased Epstein or called his staff, but he pursued her with gifts, commissions and more, even after she tried to move on.
Meanwhile, she also had a long-running feud with Virginia Giuffre, who was Epstein’s most well-known accuser. Giuffre portrayed her as an enabler in an unpublished memoir, which is why Oh says she sued Giuffre for defamation and is now pursuing claims against her estate after Giuffre’s death.
R.I.P. TONIGHT VIRGINIA ROBERTS GIUFFRE— She was Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s accuser who shined the light on Prince Andrew and others. She overcame a life of abuse and pain to become a proud Mom and we will always remember her bravery. (Photo from my book The Spider) pic.twitter.com/tzI4P1wf99
— barry levine (@barryscoopking) April 26, 2025
Rina Oh said she noticed his books and the unsettling rituals of his homes. Those details now haunt her, especially as newly released DOJ images have revealed creepy rooms inside the properties, including a dentist chair and walls plastered with masks.
The latest document dump, mandated under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, has only reinforced her belief that the truth is too big for a single “client list” to explain. She argues, accountability can only come through survivor testimony.
For years, Oh believed the abuse was her fault, so she took therapy and reflected for decades to name what happened to her. Now she is a mother of two who wants to clear her name to reclaim agency. She’s also planning to release a book in 2026.
As the Epstein files continue to surface, how many more such stories are we ready for?
