Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich,’ a terrifying picture of abuse comes forth as we hear stories of women who survived their interactions with Jeffrey Epstein, who used his money and power to hide the stories of his abuse for as long as possible. Eventually, however, the truth came to light, which led to more women coming forward with their stories and building a case against Epstein that presents just the tip of the iceberg in contrast to the true extent of his crimes. One of the women to talk about her experience in the documentary is Shawna Rivera, who had to suffer very tough times in life to finally get to a safe space.
Shawna Rivera’s Early Life Was Marked With Trauma
Before Shawna Rivera’s life was thrown into turmoil with the introduction of Jeffrey Epstein, the situation at her home wasn’t so good. On the show, she mentioned that she was reportedly brought up by an abusive mother, while her father went to prison when she was 3 and came out when she was 10. She believed that he had returned a reformed man, but nothing really changed at the house. In fact, she added that things got worse. According to her accounts, when her father and her stepmother beat their 8-year-old son to death in front of her, she decided to run away. After spending a lot of time in shelter homes, she finally went back home to her grandmother, who now has her legal custody.
When Shawna was 14, she was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein by one of her friends. Like it did for many other victims, it started as a massage for which she was paid $200. Despite all the fear she felt, or perhaps because of it, she was forced to return to Epstein’s house repeatedly. The abuse she suffered at his hands went on for a couple of years before she decided to walk away. At the time, she decided not to tell anyone about it and thought that this thing, though incredibly traumatic, would go away on its own. However, years later, when two FBI agents knocked at her door, she realised that it was time to tell her story.
Shawna Rivera Prefers to Keep Her Life Private Today
Shawna Rivera has moved on from her traumatic past and is now living a happy and fulfilled life. She was last known to be living in Brea, California, with her husband, Angelo, with whom she has children who are the light of her life. Shawna revealed that she was pregnant by the time the FBI came looking for her, and when the time came to file a case against Jeffrey Epstein, she had just given birth. In such times, her husband remained her steadfast support. While the case has been one of the most high-profile ones of recent times, the spotlight hasn’t exactly been good for the survivor’s mental state. Shawna revealed that there was a time when she was addicted to drugs, but she is in recovery as of writing.
She also talked about the feeling of danger and the constant paranoia that gripped her when she shared her story with the FBI. Back then, she’d been stalked and followed by unknown people, most likely sent to scare her into taking back her statements. This fear hasn’t gone away with Epstein’s death. Shawna revealed that she still feels paranoid after she gives an interview, which is why she doesn’t like to talk about it so much publicly. Over the years, she has only appeared in the Netflix docuseries and the Better Call Daddy podcast. However, this does not mean that she believes in staying silent. She has expressed her desire to work more actively towards supporting survivors of sexual abuse and pedophilia.
Shawna created a Facebook page to raise awareness of the matter and received the love and support of people. While she has had to deal with nasty people and their hurtful comments, she focuses on the good that needs to be done in the context of violence and abuse. She believes that Epstein got away easy when he died by suicide before his trial could even begin, and the prospect of never getting proper justice made her feel overwhelmingly sad. Still, she feels glad that the truth came out. This brought her in contact with other survivors with whom she is still in touch through social media. She also believes that a lot of secrets were buried with Epstein, and that the actual number of the women he and his friends abused is much higher than the survivors who came forward with their stories.
Read More: Where Are Maria and Annie Farmer Now? Update on Jeffrey Epstein’s Survivors
