Third Maxwell accuser says Epstein abused her when she was 14
A third accuser in the Ghislaine Maxwell sexual abuse trial took the stand on Tuesday and claimed that deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein abused her when she was 14.
The woman — identified only as “Carolyn” — testified that she met Epstein through a female friend, Virginia Roberts, when she was 14 years old and needed money, The New York Times reported.
Roberts, later known as Virginia Giuffre, asked her if she wanted to make money giving massages, Carolyn testified in court.
On her first visit when she was 14, Carolyn said Maxwell greeted she and Roberts. She testified that once in Epstein’s massage room, Roberts took off her clothes and asked to keep her undergarments, according to the Times.
After massaging Epstein’s back for 45 minutes, Carolyn testified that he turned over and Virginia began having sex with him while she watched from the couch, the Times reported.
Carolyn alleged that she went to Epstein’s house more than 100 times over four years, when she was between the ages of 14 and 18 years.
“Something sexual happened every single time,” Carolyn testified, per the Times.
She also testified that when she later frequented Epstein’s Palm Beach house, it was usually Maxwell who greeted her in the kitchen and gave her instructions such as to wait for Epstein if he was “out for a jog,” The Independent reported.
She said she was paid $300 to $400 by Maxwell after every encounter and used the money to buy drugs. She added that she was paid extra when she brought friends over to Epstein’s house.
Carolyn also told the court how Maxwell once touched her breasts and said “she had a great body for Epstein and his friends,” according to The Independent.
In another instance, Carolyn said Maxwell and Epstein asked if she could travel to Epstein’s private island but she said she couldn’t since she was 14 and didn’t have a passport. Carolyn also told them her mother wouldn’t allow her to go, according to reports.
Carolyn said she stopped going to Epstein’s house when she got pregnant with her then-boyfriend and had a child.
However, she returned when she needed money, but says she stopped after Epstein asked her if she had any younger friends, the Times report added.
“I said no. And that’s when I realized I was too old,” she said in court, the Times reported.
In addition to Carolyn, two other accusers — identified as Kate and Jane — have taken the stand to recount the abuse they suffered.
During his opening statement, Maxwell’s lawyer Bobby Sternheim said that his client is being made a “scapegoat for a man who behaved badly,” according to The Associated Press.
“The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, but she is not Jeffrey Epstein,” Sternheim said.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges.
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