A trans woman was among the first people to publicly accuse Jeffrey Epstein – and was mocked for it

One of the first people to speak out against notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was a trans woman who faced unprecedented abuse over the accusations.

Content Warning: This article features themes of child sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and transphobia. Reader discretion is advised.

The infamous convicted sex offender, sex trafficker, and paedophile was found dead in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for an array of sex-trafficking charges, including trafficking girls as young as 14.

The disgraced financier and billionaire was accused of running a “vast network” of underage girls for sex, predominantly taking place at his private island, dubbed “Epstein Island.”

A “client list” owned by the financier allegedly contains the names of some of Epstein’s most high-profile clients. US president Donald Trump, who initially vowed to release the list publicly, has since reversed his decision, calling the files a “hoax.”

An investigation into Epstein’s activities first began in 2005 after a 14-year-old girl’s parents alleged he paid her for a massage. Investigating officers later heard allegations that Epstein had sexually abused underage girls at his mansion.

He was first charged in 2006 with charges of solicitation of prostitution. Palm Beach Police Department’s chief and lead detective reportedly referred the case to the FBI, saying at the time that the charge didn’t reflect the “totality of Epstein’s conduct,” according to NPR.

Trans model Ava Cordero faced abuse for accusations against Epstein

One of the first public accusations against Epstein from a named victim came in 2007, during an FBI investigation into his abuses, when trans model Ava Cordero accused the billionaire of forcing her into a secret affair when she was just 16 years old.

Issuing a lawsuit against Epstein, Cordero alleged she had been forced to engage in “bizarre and unnatural sex acts,” which left her “deeply hurt.”

Despite Epstein’s representatives already saying the billionaire planned to plead guilty to charges that he had sex with an underage girl, news outlets at the time branded the lawsuit as “bogus” while ridiculing Cordero over her gender identity.

One of Epstein's victims was a trans woman, but nobody paid attention because she's trans + Latina. The Post and Times of Israel even ran hit pieces on Ava Cordero like the 2007 articles below. Epstein could've been stopped sooner if society listened to POC, trans people or girls pic.twitter.com/bdbWvIM1rF

— Eli Erlick (@EliErlick) July 29, 2025

Journalists Dareh Gregorian and Lucy Carne, writing for the New York Post, delved into the model’s private social media accounts, published information about her mental health, called her a “man” and branded the suit a “gender-bend shocker.”

The reporters also spoke with Epstein’s lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, claimed Cordero was only “after my client’s money” while further mocking her gender identity, saying: “It wouldn’t surprise me if the next claim was from the Loch Ness monster.”

In the same year, Epstein was indicted on 60 criminal counts. He pleaded guilty to two state charges and agreed to a prison term and to register as a sex offender.

He was later released after serving less than 13 months, and wouldn’t be imprisoned again until July 2019 after he was charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

Just shy of a month later, in August, Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. A New York City chief examiner concluded Epstein died by suicide.

In a court session dismissing the indictment against Epstein, US district judge Richard Berman allowed victims, both anonymously and under their real names, to give testimony about his crimes.

Courtney Wild, who had helped start the first proceedings against Epstein, said during the session: “Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused me for years, robbing me of my innocence and mental health.

“Jeffrey Epstein has done nothing but manipulate our justice system, where he has never been held accountable for his actions, even to this day.”