Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Details Rape Allegations in New Lawsuit, Says He Did Not Use a Condom
By TheBlast Staff on July 10, 2019 at 7:34 AM EDT
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A 32-year-old woman claims that Jeffrey Epstein abused and raped her without a condom at his home when she was just 14-years-old.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Jennifer Araoz claims she was approached outside of her Queens, N.Y. high school by a woman in her 20s. The woman tried to befriend Araoz and eventually, she claims, the recruiter (whose identity is a mystery to Araoz) introduced her to Epstein.
Araoz claims the woman described Epstein to her as "very caring, very wealthy, very successful, and someone good to know."
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During her first visit to Epstein's home with the recruiter, she claims he gave her $300 and said, "Here’s a little something to help you out. I take care of the people I care about."
She claims that Epstein tried to curry favor with her by saying that he was “a big AIDS activist,” which meant a lot to her because her father had recently passed away from the disease.
Araoz claims she visited the home with the recruiter several times but on her first visit without her, things took a turn.
She claims that Epstein brought her up to a room with a massage table and "a lot of paintings of nude women on the walls." Araoz claims Epstein said he liked “girls with small breasts” because they were “natural and real.”
While still in the massage room, Araoz claims Epstein asked her to take her top off, which she did.
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"Epstein then immediately started feeling Ms. Araoz’s breasts and rubbing her nude shoulders," the lawsuit states.
She claims Epstein eventually left the room and returned just wearing a robe. She says he asked her if she was good at giving massages "and, considering all of the financial help he had been giving her family over the past month, insinuated that he would like one."
Araoz claims he told her to remove all of her clothing, except her underwear, and he laid down on the table. She says she noticed that Epstein had "a lot of birthmarks and/or freckles on his back."
She claims, "After massaging Epstein’s back for about 20 to 25 minutes, Epstein suddenly turned over, removed his towel and began masturbating."
Araoz says she "stood frozen to the side of the massage table as Epstein ejaculated on himself."
In the lawsuit, Araoz says the massages would continue about once or twice a week throughout the first and second semester of her freshman year of high school and through the beginning of the first semester of her sophomore year of high school.
She claims she received $300 each time.
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During the Fall of her sophomore year, when she was still just 15, Araoz claims that Epstein broke from their routine. She claims that "instead of turning over to masturbate and fondle her breasts, while she stood off to the side of the massage table, Epstein became more aggressive with her and started touching her vaginal area."
She claims that Epstein asked her, "Why don’t we do it where you’re on top of me massaging me and take your underwear off."
Araoz says she felt uncomfortable and resisted but eventually did as she was told.
"Then, all of a sudden," the lawsuit states, "Epstein forced his penis (which already had massage oils on it) inside her vagina and proceeded to have sex with her."
In the lawsuit, she says, "Araoz was petrified, felt trapped and didn’t know what to do, so she just did as she was told. Epstein held her tightly and forcibly raped her."
She also says that "Epstein did not use a condom, which substantially contributed to extreme emotional distress and the development of a panic disorder, which was exacerbated by the fact that Ms. Araoz had recently lost her father to AIDS."
Watch @savannahguthrie’s full exclusive interview with Jeffrey Epstein accuser Jennifer Araoz, who’s sharing her story of alleged rape for the first time. pic.twitter.com/CjZdVpLz7i
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 10, 2019
After the alleged rape, Araoz says that Epstein "told her that “she was amazing, that she felt amazing, and that she did nothing wrong.”
Araoz claims she left Epstein's home that day and never returned. She claims he has tried to reach out to her several times both then and in later years but she did not take his calls.
The lawsuit filed by Araoz cannot officially be filed with the court until next month because of the recently-passed New York Child Victim's Act.
Araoz's legal team wants to depose Epstein in part so she can learn the identity of the woman who recruiter her so she can add that woman to her lawsuit.
In an interview with "TODAY," Araoz told Savannah Guthrie she feels "really guilty" that she did not come forward sooner because "maybe he wouldn’t have done it to other girls."
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Epstein was arrested on Saturday at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport and charged with sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy. A federal indictment alleges that between 2002 and 2005, Epstein lured “dozens” of young girls and women to his homes in Palm Beach and New York City and sexually abused them.
Araoz is not one of the victims from the federal indictment.