Hope-Beryl Green, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein, was born into trafficking and decades-long abuse in which perpetrators twisted the Bible to enslave. Now, she is a Christian minister advocating for justice, urging the Church to open its eyes and help rescue victims of modern-day slavery.

In an interview with Premier Christian News, Beryl-Green shared how a revelation through creation set her on a journey to know God as “papa” and the truth about Jesus.

Beryl-Green said she was “signed over” to Epstein aged five, not remembering a time when she was not trafficked. Subjected to sexual abuse and mind control programmes, she described being flown to different locations around the world, including London. There were also periods of being locked in a room by herself, told she would only be let out when she behaved and all the abuse happening there was God’s will. 

She said: “With trafficking, they’re telling you what to think, when to think, how to think. A lot of it was targeted against Jesus, perverting and twisting who he is; twisting prayer and scripture, which is really diabolical. It’s the worst form of abuse there is.

“From infancy, I was trained to believe that I was a monster, that I was a horrible person that God hated. So, if God hates you and Jesus hates you, then obviously you deserve what you're going through. That’s how they’re able to keep you in the system.”

Beryl-Green believes abusers picked Jesus because they know they know his true power: “They actually know scripture better than a lot of Christians. Satan and demons are legalistic and it’s all about works and being good enough. The main reason they target Jesus is because of the freedom that you receive through his death on the cross and the grace you feel. They target children because of their innocence and God’s heart for children.”

The Epstein files, released by the US Department of Justice over the past year, make reference to Jesus, scriptures and “Bible study”. In one exchange, Epstein told an undisclosed person that a young victim “said that she felt Gods [sic] presence next to her when she was in bed.. she knows that Jesus watches over her and he helped save her life. Whoops.”

For Beryl-Green, the true nature of God was revealed on a rare occasion when she was let outside: “I saw a yellow flower and a yellow butterfly. In that moment, the Lord really gave me hope that there could be something else for me. Everybody needs hope in order to survive trauma or whatever they're going through, that something can be better.”

“Just like the scripture says, even the rocks will cry out [Luke 19:40]. So he used his creation because I didn't have any human being that would give me any form of hope. He used his creation to show me that there was something different than what they were telling me about who he is.”

After 31 years, Beryl-Green was able to break free from the slavery and abuse but did not feel welcomed by the Church because of flawed views of forgiveness. She told Premier that churches need to be wary of traffickers and abusers attempting to “infiltrate” churches with legalistic thinking to provide cover, as well as being aware of those who may have been abused. 

Now, Beryl-Green is campaigning for justice and for Christians to be equipped to help victims heal. At the beginning of September, she launched the STAND group with survivors of Mohamed Al Fayed during a parliamentary roundtable in Westminster, calling for stronger action against human trafficking and exploitation.

Beryl-Green suggested that churches should pray about how they can best help modern slavery victims in their context, whether that be offering safe places or opportunities to “heal body, soul, spirit”; listen to survivor stories, and consider training to become equipped in helping survivors to heal. 

For victims of exploitation, Beryl-Green said it can be “very scary to step out in the church situation”, particularly if faith was twisted in their abuse. But she encouraged them into “allowing the Lord to connect you with the right people [and] understanding that they are not alone in this journey.”