Warning: This article contains references to rape and sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.

Juliette Bryant became emotional as she described how she was approached by women linked to Epstein who promised to help her break into modelling.

Speaking to Sky News, Bryant said she quickly realised she was in serious danger.

“I just freaked out and suddenly realised these people might kill me,” she said. “I understood I had to be nice and friendly because I was in great danger.”

Bryant first met Epstein in Cape Town in 2002, when he was visiting South Africa during a trip that also involved former US President Bill Clinton. Within weeks, she says, she had been flown to New York.

At the time, Bryant was a first-year university student who believed her “dreams were all coming true” as she pursued a modelling career.

However, shortly after arriving in the US, she was taken to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and told she would be travelling to the Caribbean — to Epstein’s private island.

She alleges that after boarding Epstein’s Boeing 727, often referred to as the “Lolita Express”, she was sexually assaulted.

“He patted the chair next to him, and then I went and sat there. It was such a confusing situation for a young person to be in. I was really petrified,” she said, claiming Epstein began forcibly touching her shortly after take-off.

Bryant said she was left on the island without her passport and alleges she was repeatedly raped by Epstein over a two-year period.

She later found a disposable camera on the island and used it to photograph locations where she says she was abused, including Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico.

According to Bryant, Epstein offered her $2,000 (£1,400) to recruit other girls and a further $4,000 (£2,900) to remain with him. She says she refused because she did not want to be around him.

Unredacted emails between Bryant and Epstein were included in documents recently released by the US Department of Justice, widely referred to as the “Epstein Files”.

The correspondence shows she remained in contact with Epstein until 2017. Bryant has said she would sometimes email him while intoxicated or during emotional breakdowns.

“Invisible chains is a good way to put it — it was like I was handcuffed invisibly,” she said, adding that she often felt as though he was watching her.

Epstein died in August 2019 while in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. His death was ruled a suicide.