165: [Marina Lacerda] Power & Connections // Part 2

What Came Next

Broken Cycle Media

Education, Society & Culture, Self-improvement, True Crime, Documentary

4.4 • 627 Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Content Warning: grooming, domestic violence, physical violence, sexual violence, sexual abuse, childhood sexual abuse, and sex trafficking.

In these two episodes we feature Marina Lacerda, a survivor and mother from Brazil. In her youth, she immigrated to New York with her mother in hopes of forging a new life. Almost immediately, Marina would begin to face sexual and physical violence that normalized a long cycle of abuse. By the time she was 14, Marina would be introduced to Jeffrey Epstein, a man that seemed to symbolize success and wealth, but only added to her trauma. Eventually, Marina would play a part in both of the FBI’s attempts at justice in 2008 and 2019, when during the latter, she would be dubbed, “Minor Victim 1.” Marina’s journey is a testament to the impact of the cycle of abuse, but it also is a testament to her personal resilience and strength. The Broken Cycle Media team is incredibly honored she was willing to share her story with our audience, and continues to be transparent about her healing journey in the name of advocacy.

Marina's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/marinalacerdaforsurvivors/

Sources:

Chappell, Bill. “Jeffrey Epstein Files: Tracing the Legal Cases That Led to Sex-Trafficking Charges.” NPR, NPR, 25 July 2025, www.npr.org/2025/07/25/nx-s1-5478620/jeffrey-epstein-crimes-timeline-legal-case

Diaz, Jaclyn. “Jeffrey Epstein’s Former Prosecutors Used ‘poor Judgment’ in Deal, Doj Says.” NPR, NPR, 12 Nov. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/11/12/934265386/jeffrey-epsteins-former-prosecutors-used-poor-judgment-in-deal-doj-says

Sardarizadeh, Shayan. “Details of Jeffrey Epstein Post-Mortem Released in Latest Files.” BBC News, BBC, 4 Feb. 2026, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2y33q8l1qo

Sisak, Michael R., and David B. Caruso. “At Least 16 Files Disappear from DOJ Site for Epstein Documents, Including Trump Photo.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 20 Dec. 2025, www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/at-least-16-files-disappear-from-doj-site-for-epstein-documents-including-trump-photo

For a list of additional resources and related non-profit organizations, please visit http://www.somethingwaswrong.com/resources

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	What came next is intended for mature audiences only.
0:04.7	Episodes discuss topics that can be triggering,
0:07.3	such as emotional, physical, and sexual violence, animal abuse, suicide, and murder.
0:13.9	I am not a therapist, nor am I a doctor.
0:17.2	If you're in need of support, please visit Something Was Wrong.com forward slash resources for a list of non-profit organizations that can help.
0:26.4	Opinions expressed by my guests on the show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of myself or broken cycle media.
0:35.1	Resources and source material are linked in the episode notes.
0:39.1	Thank you so much for listening. Marina Lacerda is a survivor and mother from Brazil. In her youth, she emigrated to New York with her mother in hopes of
1:12.8	forging a new life. Almost immediately, Marina would begin to face sexual and physical violence
1:19.2	that normalized a long cycle of abuse. By the time she was 14, Marina would be introduced to Jeffrey
1:27.2	Epstein, a man that seemed to symbolize
1:30.0	success and wealth, but only added to her trauma. Eventually, Marina would play a part in both of
1:37.2	the FBI's attempts at prosecuting Epstein in 2008 and 2019, when during the latter, she would be dubbed Minor Victim One.
1:47.6	Marina's journey is a testament to the impact of the cycle of abuse,
1:51.9	but it's also a testament to her personal resilience and strength.
1:56.5	The Broken Cycle Media team is incredibly honored she was willing to share her story with our audience
2:01.6	and that she continues to be transparent about her healing journey in the name of advocacy
2:10.9	when i was 15 and a half my stepfather moved back home, so I moved out at 16.
2:19.9	By the time I was 17, I had moved in with a boyfriend of mine who at the time didn't need to move out of his house,
2:27.3	but he was so upset that my mom did that, that he was like, I'm moving you out of the house.
2:32.5	And it so happened that we found an apartment across the street from my original home where I lived with my mom.
2:38.2	But then we moved on to another place.
	...

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