Underage girls were flown to Jeffrey Epstein's private island by helicopter for years.
The woman who ran it is still there – and still in charge.
A man went to ask questions about it and said he almost did not make it out alive.
Ann Rodriquez Managed Little St. James for Epstein for Decades and Never Left
Ann Rodriquez managed Little St. James for Jeffrey Epstein for decades.
Her name appears in more than 200 documents in the DOJ's Epstein file release – scheduling emails, staffing memos, travel logs, meal prep for guests.
In one 2017 email, someone wrote to Rodriquez confirming that two girls with redacted names would "accompany JE to the island tomorrow" and would each need a room.
Rodriquez wrote back asking if they were flying with Epstein or commercial.
She coordinated Richard Branson's food preferences during a visit – the same Branson who emailed Epstein saying he'd love to see him again, "as long as you bring your harem."
His 2014 Trust left her $500,000.
Epstein died in 2019 but Rodriquez stayed.
Billionaire Stephen Deckoff bought the island in 2023 and Rodriquez stayed then too.
The Epstein Island Trespasser Who Got Hogtied and Stripped at Gunpoint
On March 1, two brothers rode jet skis to Little St. James to film a documentary.
Their drone landed on the beach and they went to retrieve it.
Rodriquez came after them by boat.
She pointed what looked like a Glock handgun and screamed "I will kill you" – over and over, according to court documents.
One brother was ordered to jump into the water and swim to her boat.
He was forced to kneel, stripped naked, and hog-tied while Rodriquez's crew confiscated the memory cards from their drone.
The other brother fled on his jet ski and called the Coast Guard.
U.S. Customs, the Coast Guard, and Virgin Islands police descended on the island.
The weapon turned out to be a BB gun designed to look like a Glock.
Virgin Islands police arrested Rodriquez and charged her with false imprisonment, kidnapping, third-degree assault, and destruction of property.
The island's holding company sued the brothers for trespassing.
Benjamin Owen Says He Was Thrown in a Dungeon and Left to Die
Seven weeks later, a Memphis nonprofit founder named Benjamin Owen swam ashore to plant a flag for his organization that helps sex trafficking survivors.
Owen fell behind when his group tried to flee – thought he was having an asthma attack – so he sat down and waited, figuring he hadn't harmed anyone.
Island personnel hog-tied him with rope, then zip ties, then duct tape around his ankles, knees, and wrists.
They threw him through a set of double concrete doors built into the side of a cliff – a 10-by-20 cement room, no windows, roof covered in dirt.
Rodriquez arrived, ordered the men to drag Owen into the corner, had him blindfolded, and left him alone in the heat.
"I'm tied with rope, I'm tied with zip ties, I'm tied with duct tape. I'm not going anywhere," Owen told CBS News.
He said he thought he might die in that room.
"I don't believe I was supposed to leave that island alive."
Virgin Islands police eventually burst through the doors and arrested Owen for trespassing.
Rodriquez has not been charged in connection with what happened to Owen.
The Epstein Files Named Her 4796 Times and She Still Has the Job
The Trump administration released millions of Epstein documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Deputy AG Todd Blanche confirmed the DOJ seized more than two dozen electronic devices from Little St. James – containing videos and images that "appear to be taken by Mr. Epstein or by others, or around him."
The island's logbooks, boat trip records, and a document described only as "a list with names" remain unreleased.
Congress passed the transparency law. Trump's DOJ published the files. House Oversight held hearings.
The woman in more than 200 of those documents – the one who confirmed the girls' room arrangements, coordinated the guest visits, and collected a $500,000 inheritance from Epstein – never answered a single question about any of it.
She kept her job.
And when people showed up on that island asking questions, she allegedly chased them down, stripped them, hog-tied them, and threw them in a concrete room under a cliff.
Owen said security guards told him at least seven groups had been violently confronted in recent months.
The island's holding company did not respond.
The people demanding answers get zip-tied in the dark.
Nobody who actually ran Epstein's operation ever had to answer for any of it.
Sources:
- Cara Tabachnick, Graham Kates and Nicole Sganga, "Epstein island trespasser says he was hog-tied, thrown into 'dungeon,'" CBS News, May 21, 2026.
- "Ex-Epstein employee accused of kidnapping on Little St. James Island," NewsNation, May 2026.
- "Ann Rodriguez – Epstein Files Profile," Epstein Exposed, epsteinexposed.com, April 2026.
- Todd Blanche, DOJ Press Briefing on Epstein Files Release, Department of Justice, January 31, 2026.
- "Owner of Little St. James island sues suspected trespassers," Virgin Islands Daily News, May 2026.