Epstein abuse survivor tours Bucks County and other Pa. swing districts as Democrats highlight Trump’s ties

Democrat Bob Harvie thumbed through hundreds of pages bound together in a book labeled “The Partially Redacted Epstein Files” and said he was disgusted with what he read — or at least what he was able to read.

Entire blocks of text regarding the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019, were marked black.

But survivors of Epstein’s predatory behavior, including Sharlene Rochard who appeared with Harvie Friday in Bristol, are heroes for illuminating what has been blocked from the public, the congressional candidate said.

Harvie pledged to push “very, very hard” to release the full, unredacted files related to Epstein’s crimes if elected.

The Bucks County commissioner is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick to represent the 1st Congressional District, one of two swing districts in the state that Rochard visited Friday to campaign for Democrats. She’ll be hitting another the following day.

“These are files, but I’m in these files, and that is my life in these files,” Rochard told Harvie. “And I need justice. We need accountability, and we need some transparency, and we need people like you.”

Rows of files were contained inside a traveling bookmobile parked in front of the Bristol waterfront. Plastered on the outside of the truck was a decades-old image of President Donald Trump with his arm around Epstein.

Reminding voters of Trump’s history with Epstein has been a campaign tactic used by Democrats in competitive contests across the country, but Harvie said the issue of justice for survivors should go beyond partisan politics.

“I don’t care what party they’re from,” Harvie said. “I don’t care what office they hold or held. I don’t care how much money they have. I don’t care. We need to do everything we can to protect the victims and honor them and shine a light on this part of our society.”

Earlier in the day, Rochard visited Harrisburg, where she was welcomed by Democrat Janelle Stelson, a former news anchor who promised to “take on the culture of corruption across the government” if elected over incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in the 10th District.

Rochard is slated to appear Saturday in Bethlehem with Democrat Bob Brooks, who is running against U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the 7th District, one of the most competitive contests in the nation.

The truck arrived in Pennsylvania one month before Election Day as Trump continues to plummet in popularity among likely voters in the state. It’s an officially nonpartisan project of Institute for Primary Facts, a nonprofit that builds public art installations, and DEFIANCE.org, a group dedicated to ending sexual exploitation of children and adults.

Rochard, who was born in Canada, began traveling to the U.S. as a teen to model when she met Epstein and was with him in New York, Florida, and on his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she said. Though she’s unable to go into details about her trafficking experience because she is involved in ongoing legal action, she now works alongside fellow survivors to advocate for the files to be exposed.

Every Pennsylvania lawmaker voted to release the Epstein files last year, including Fitzpatrick and the other vulnerable Republican incumbents whose districts Rochard is touring this week.

In a statement last year, Fitzpatrick said he is “unequivocally behind the victims and their family members who suffered immensely” from Epstein’s crimes.

“He 100% stands with the victims, and will support disclosure and transparency every single time,” Heather Roberts, a spokesperson for Fitzpatrick’s campaign, said Friday.

A couple dozen people trickled through the bookmobile during its Bristol stop, though multiple people interviewed entered with familiarity about the files and were already convinced of a strong connection between Trump and Epstein.

“I’m dumbfounded that there are people who don’t believe the victims,” said Deb Crasnick, 69, of Langhorne.

Crasnick found out about the event from her friend Diane Grant, 71, of Bensalem, who has been following the tour on social media. But Grant, who called the revelations disturbing, worried the tour’s effectiveness may have limits.

“People have their mindset. Nothing said or shown in there will change it,” she said.

And most guests — all of whom said they plan to vote for Harvie, who is polling just behind Fitzpatrick — said cost-of-living concerns rather than Epstein are their top priorities to address in this year’s election.

“The economy keeps me up at night,” said Tracey Marshall, 57, who lives in Falls Township. “We need a change.”

Rochard said the purpose of the tour goes beyond Election Day.

Trump has called the Epstein case “a hoax” and said that the files that have been publicly shared are “enough,” a notion the survivor is hoping to dispel with the tour.

“This is something that has happened to me,” Rochard said. “I’m not a Democratic hoax. I am a real person, and we need some justice.”