Jennifer Araoz, who has publicly said she was sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein as a teenager, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against his estate, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell and three unnamed female household staff members.
According to NBC News, Araoz alleges that Epstein repeatedly assaulted her at his New York City townhouse when she was 14 and 15, including a forcible rape in 2002. Epstein died August 10 in a Manhattan federal jail, and authorities have described his death as an apparent suicide. He had pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges before he died.
Araoz first shared her account publicly in an interview with Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s Today show on July 10, the same day she filed papers in New York state court saying she intended to sue. In her complaint, she alleges that Maxwell and the staffers “conspired with each other to make possible and otherwise facilitate the sexual abuse and rape of Plaintiff.”
On a call with reporters, Araoz said, “Today is my first step towards reclaiming my power.” She added that Epstein and his network of enablers took from her youth, identity and self worth, and that she intends to change the fact that they escaped accountability for so long.
The claims in the lawsuit are allegations that had not been tested in court, and responses from the estate, Maxwell and the staffers were not included in the reports at the time.
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