Shelby Talcott on August 14, 2019
One of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers filed a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and three female staffers Wednesday.
Jennifer Araoz first filed papers to sue Epstein, an alleged child sex-trafficker, on July 10, the same day she publicly announced the alleged abuse in an NBC News interview.
The lawsuit follows Epstein’s apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail Saturday, and alleges Maxwell and three female staffers “conspired with each other to make possible and otherwise facilitate the sexual abuse and rape” of Araoz, according to NBC News.
Wednesday’s lawsuit amends the first lawsuit Araoz filed against Epstein. His estate will be included in the lawsuit.
Araoz is one of multiple people who have accused Maxwell of helping or being an enabler in Epstein’s alleged child sex-trafficking ring. Some say Maxwell recruited them as underage girls and others allege she helped schedule visits to Epstein, NBC News reported.
Maxwell allegedly “participated with and assisted Epstein in maintaining and protecting” the sex-trafficking ring, according to Wednesday’s lawsuit. The lawsuit is also filed against a secretary, a maid and a “recruiter.” She also allegedly helped intimidate potential witnesses.
“Upon information and belief, Maxwell conspired with Epstein in the implementation and maintenance of his criminal enterprise which, in turn, victimized Ms. Araoz,” the lawsuit reads.
Court filings unsealed Friday from a past defamation lawsuit against Maxwell indicated she was a prime Epstein enabler, NBC News reported. Virginia Robert Giuffre, another Epstein accuser, filed that lawsuit in 2015. It was settled in 2017 out of court.
The lawsuit is one of the first filed under the new New York Child Victims Act, which allows victims of child sex from any time period to bring a civil case against their alleged abuser for the next year. Araoz’s lawsuit is the first one filed against Epstein’s estate following his apparent suicide Saturday.
