Jeffrey Epstein accuser asks court for help in identifying his alleged recruiter
Jennifer Araoz, who in a recent interview accused the billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein of raping her when she was just 15, asked a New York City court on Wednesday for help identifying his alleged recruiter.
Araoz’s interview aired in the wake of Epstein’s arrest on Saturday for alleged sex trafficking of minor girls, with prosecutors claiming that some of these victims were just 14 years old. She told NBC that Epstein “raped me, forcefully raped me … I was terrified and telling him to stop”.
The Manhattan US attorney’s office alleged that Epstein “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls” at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida from 2002 to 2005.
Epstein pleaded not guilty on Monday to two counts: sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Araoz alleged in papers filed with the Manhattan supreme court that she was a 14-year-old high school freshman when a woman approached her after school one day.
“The woman, who we shall refer to as ‘the Recruiter’, tried to befriend her,” the court papers said. “The Recruiter approached Ms Araoz repeatedly over the course of a week or two, offering to take her for lunches close by the school and, during the meals, would continue to ask personal questions about her.
“At some point during this approximate two-week period, the Recruiter began to speak about defendant Epstein, almost as if he was her uncle or a family friend,” court papers also stated. “The Recruiter said that Epstein was a ‘nice guy’, and that he takes care of her and her family.”
This Recruiter eventually made plans with Araoz to visit his house and meet him after school. On the first visit, during which the Recruiter was present, Epstein chatted with them and gave Araoz $300.
While there was no sexual contact in this first visit, as well as several others over the course of a month with the Recruiter, Epstein’s secretary then called to schedule Araoz to visit him alone, court papers alleged, where the sexual abuse began after Epstein asked her to strip and give him a massage.
These “horribly abusive sexual assaults of a child, became more aggressive and escalated” over time. One day, when she was 15, Epstein “forcibly raped her”, Araoz’s documents alleged.
Araoz on Wednesday asked thecourt to order Epstein’s participation in a deposition, as well as the production of documents with the names of his past employees, in the hopes of identifying the woman who allegedly lured her to his home.
Epstein’s lawyers did not immediately to respond to requests for comment on Araoz’s allegations.
Epstein, who reportedly has connections to Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, has been accused of sexually abusing minor girls for more than a decade.
In 2007, Epstein and the Miami US attorney’s office, helmed by Alexander Acosta, now the US labor secretary under Trump, brokered a deal that closed a federal investigation involving at least 40 teenage girls. Under the arrangement, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges, serving a mere 13 months in jail and registering as a sex offender.
The controversial deal has since become the subject of a US Department of Justice inquiry.
