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New Accuser Says Jeffrey Epstein Raped Her When She Was 15
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-a...b0d6f02fa3abcb
A new woman accused now-deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein on Monday of raping her when she was a minor at his New Mexico home, the Zorro Ranch.
The woman, known only as Jane Doe 15, held a press conference alongside her attorney, Gloria Allred, on Monday afternoon in Los Angeles. Doe, now 31, said one of Epstein’s assistants approached her when she was on a high school field trip in New York City. The assistant invited Doe to Epstein’s New York City home, where she says Epstein’s associate took a picture of her. Later, Doe said, the assistant reached out to invite her to Epstein’s Zorro Ranch.
Doe said during the five days she stayed at Zorro Ranch, Epstein raped her in what she says was her first sexual experience. Allred declined to clarify what year Doe’s alleged rape happened, presumably to protect her client’s identity.
“Epstein took my sexual innocence in front of a wall of framed photographs of him shaking hands and smiling with celebrities and political leaders,” Doe, who wore a bracelet that read “Epstein didn’t kill himself,” said during the press conference.
“After this we had a long talk about my future goals,” she continued. “I told him that I wanted to go to college to study biochemistry. He said that he wanted to give me money for college. He asked me how much money I thought he should give me. At 15 years old, living in Northern Michigan with my mother, stepfather and grandfather, I had no idea how to respond to a billionaire who had just raped me. I was being asked to quantify in monetary terms what had been taken from me.”
A photo of Jane Doe 15 when she was 15 years old, the year she says Jeffrey Epstein raped her. Photo provided by attorney Glo
Gloria Allred
A photo of Jane Doe 15 when she was 15 years old, the year she says Jeffrey Epstein raped her. Photo provided by attorney Gloria Allred.
Doe said Epstein wrote her a check for $5,000 made out to the college she “so desperately” wanted to attend at the time.
The accuser added that during her stay in New Mexico she flew on Epstein’s private jet. When she chose a seat on the plane, Doe said, Epstein told her that the seat is where his “good friend Bill Clinton always sits.”
When Doe returned from the ranch she said one of Epstein’s assistants contacted her again inviting her to his island, where she “was told Prince Andrew, among others, would be a guest.” Doe said she declined the invite.
Doe asked the public to “stop feeling sorry” for her and other Epstein’s alleged victims, but to get angry for them.
“Jeffrey Epstein was only a small part of an insidious system of privilege that exploits children as sexual commodities and robs them of their youth,” she said, adding that Epstein “wielded great, villainous power” over his victims.
“It was clear from the time I spent with Epstein that something was very wrong with his lifestyle and it didn’t take a victim to see that. We were not hidden,” Doe continued. “It is upsetting to me to think that anyone who was closely associated with Jeffrey Epstein might argue that they didn’t suspect that he might have been sexually abusing children.”
Just because Epstein is dead does not mean that others around him don’t deserve their day in court as well. Jane Doe 15
When a reporter asked Allred and Doe to comment on the allegations of sexual abuse by Britain’s Prince Andrew, Doe urged him to come forward and speak to police. Prince Andrew has been accused of raping a minor allegedly trafficked by Epstein. The prince has continued to steadfastly deny all allegations.
“Prince Andrew, and any others who were close to Epstein, should come forward and give a statement under oath on what information they have,” she said. “Just because Epstein is dead does not mean that others around him don’t deserve their day in court as well.”
Allred echoed a similar sentiment earlier, telling reporters that Epstein’s victims “deserve the truth.”
“These are somebody’s children. These are kids. [Prince Andrew] has two daughters. Would he want anyone else to close their eyes if his daughters are there and it seems inappropriate? And that they might be at risk? Only he can answer these questions; he should answer these questions,” Allred said. “Let him state what he knows to law enforcement. It’s the honorable and right thing to do. I think it’s his duty to do it.”
Epstein was found dead from suspected suicide in his New York City jail cell in August while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking underage girls. Prosecutors said the financier abused dozens of girls on private islands and at his Manhattan mansion, his home in Palm Beach, Florida, and his New Mexico ranch.
Although the criminal case against Epstein has ended, prosecutors have vowed to continue investigating any co-conspirators, who could be criminally charged. Epstein’s accusers may also pursue civil litigation against the financier’s estate.
12-12-2022
AIRLINE
