Photo: Getty
She was brought to the U.S. from Eastern Europe when she was only 15.
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on Sep 22, 2020
Jeffrey Epstein was in jail awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking when he allegedly killed himself in Aug. 2019. His death ends the direct prosecution of him for his alleged sex trafficking crimes, but he remains at the heart of a network of people who were all complicit in his foul crimes. His associates are now coming under increased scrutiny as prosecutors and lawyers for the victims consider how to proceed. One previous co-conspirator is Nadia Marcinko, formerly known as Nada Marcinkova.
Nadia was a very young teenager when Epstein allegedly bought her from her parents in Yugoslavia and brought her to the U.S to be his sex slave. She was named as a participant in sexual assaults he committed and she may have been involved in soliciting victims for him. She was not prosecuted when he was originally charged in 2008 because she had been underage and because it was beyond clear that she was a victim of Epstein herself. However, after new photos of the pair recently surfaced, more people are looking into Nadia's role in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Who is Nadia Marcinko and where is Nadia Marcinko now?
Read on for all the details.
Epstein's death doesn't end the alleged sex trafficking case many people are involved in.
Many observers worried that Epstein's suicide in jail would mark the end of the chance for justice for his victims. But the victims' lawyers had known from the outset that there were multiple people involved in the conspiracy to traffic young women.
“While Epstein was at the head of the international sex trafficking organization, that conspiracy could not have functioned without many others playing their part,” attorney Paul Cassell, who represents multiple victims of Epstein, said shortly after his arrest in July. “Jane Doe 1 and 2 will continue to fight for all of Epstein’s co-conspirators to be held accountable in New York, Florida, and anywhere else they committed crimes.”
Documents from the prior investigation into Epstein and testimony of victims and witnesses have uncovered a vast circle on conspirators who could still face charges or civil suits from the victims. One of the conspirators is Nadia Marcinko, also know as Nada Marcinkova. She had been accused of participating in sexual encounters with underage girls and Epstein as well as soliciting girls for that purpose. She was granted immunity in 2008 but it's not clear what liability she could be held to now.
Where was Nadia Marcinko born?
Nadia was born in the former Czechoslovakia in 1986, though her family moved to Yugoslavia at some point. She was a young teen when she arrived in America to live with Epstein. In the 2005 investigation into Epstein's activities, police reports say that: "Epstein had purchased her from her family in Yugoslavia," and that "Epstein bragged he brought her into the United States to be his Yugoslavian sex slave."
She now says she came to the US to be a model in 2000, and lists modeling as one of her careers on her LinkedIn page. However, Heavy reports that Maritza Vasquez, the bookkeeper for Epstein’s MC2 Modeling agency remembers it differently.
When Nadia's visa application hit a snag, Epstein angrily called the agency about the holdup, as if he had a personal stake in the matter. Vasquez says: “That girl never work, she was never a model. She was living in his place but she disappears.”
He bought her from her parents in Eastern Europe.
Nadia participated in sexual abuse of other underage girls.
During her time with Epstein, Nadia was privy to sexual abuses of other teen girls. Witnesses and victims from the 2005 investigation all tell a similar story: girls affiliated with Epstein would recruit them to come to his house to give him a massage. The massages escalated into sexual activity and the girls would be paid at the end.
Nadia was often present and participating in sex acts during these encounters. One victim said that Epstein once directed her to perform a manual sex act on herself while she was to watch Epstein have sex with Marcinkova. Another said that she would have sexual relations with Marcinkova while Epstein took pictures of the two and actually displayed them around his home. Nadia was underage at this time.
Later on, she allegedly started acting as a procurer for Epstein, recruiting teens for him to abuse. She is also alleged to have been a pilot on the private jet Epstein used to fly friends to his private island, a plane nicknamed the Lolita Express.
Nadia Marcinko was granted immunity in 2008.
When Epstein faced charges in 2008, Nadia was given an immunity deal. The Daily Mail shared police reports from the time that made it clear that investigators took Nadia's age and the fact that she was openly being treated as a sex slave very seriously and considered her just as much of a victim of Epstein as the other young women involved. She did not face prosecution at that time.
Epstein, in the meantime, took a staggeringly light plea deal and was given on 13 months of jail time, during which he was allowed to leave to go to his office daily, despite his years of flagrant sex trafficking and sexual assault.
Where is Nadia Marcinko now?
Nowadays, Nadia works as a pilot and a flight instructor. Her LinkedIn bio says, "After a successful career as a high fashion model and spokesperson, Nadia was ready for longer runways and became a licensed Airline Transport Pilot, flight instructor and aerobatic pilot, type rated on Gulfstream II, III, IV and multiple Boeing aircraft. During her time as a pilot, Nadia developed a thorough understanding of the aviation industry and its demands. Since 2011, Nadia has been sharing her expertise as a spokesperson for aviation and through consulting work at her company, Aviloop, which develops creative marketing strategies to help accelerate the growth of other aviation businesses."
Her association with Epstein may not be entirely in her past, however. Her business address is located in a building in New York owned by Epstein's brother, according to the Daily Beast.
Could she face consequences now?
It is interesting to note that while Nadia lists her Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook profiles on her LinkedIn account, all of her social media accounts have been suspended, and she's seemingly disappeared from the internet, minus her LinkedIn page and her Aviloop website.
Will Jeffrey Epstein's victims get justice?
Now that Epstein is dead, all the charges against him will be vacated. However, there are already civil suits being filed against his co-conspirators. Rolling Stone notes that Jennifer Araoz, who alleges Epstein sexually assaulted her when she was 14 and 15 years old, has filed a lawsuit against his estate, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and three female household staffers.
While it is possible that Nadia's immunity agreement for the crimes investigated in Florida will remain in effect, she may not have such immunity for the new crimes revealed in New York. Moreover, there is nothing stopping victims from suing her in civil court.
Sexual abuse of children and minors is incredibly common.
According to the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN), 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under the age of 18 have experienced sexual abuse from an adult. Girls are far more likely to be victims of sexual abuse; the organization reports that 82% of all victims under 18 are female, and those who do suffer from assault and abuse are more likely to also develop mental health issues like depression, PTSD, and drug abuse.
There are ways to help child sexual abuse victims.
Want to get involved to bring an end to child sexual abuse? There are a few things you can do. There are organizations like Prevent Child Abuse America that are good places to start and that are always looking for people to donate their time and money to their efforts. The organization also suggests writing to local elected officials to support policies that bring an end to sexual abuse, and of course, the simplest thing to do is to keep eyes and ears open and to report abuse when you see it — and to always take children seriously when they say they're being abused.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.