NEW YORK - Two women who said they were
recruited 15 years ago to provide massages to Jeffrey Epstein,
only to be later sexually molested by him at his Manhattan
mansion, have filed a $100 million (approx R1.5 billion) lawsuit against the
financier's estate.
The lawsuit filed on Thursday night in U.S. District Court
in Manhattan is at least the second against the estate over
Epstein's alleged misconduct, following his Aug. 10 death at age
66 of an apparent suicide.
Lawyers who represented Epstein did not immediately respond
on Friday to requests for comment. The plaintiffs, identified as
Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, said they now live in Okinawa, Japan
and Baltimore.
Prior to his death, Epstein had pleaded not guilty in July
to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls
from 2002 and 2005.
Prosecutors said he recruited and paid girls to give him
massages, which became sexual in nature. Attorney General
William Barr said the U.S. government will continue its
investigation into any possible co-conspirators.
Epstein's death deprived his alleged victims of a chance to
face him at a criminal trial, leaving civil lawsuits against his
estate among their legal options.
It is not known if Epstein had a will. His lawyers last
month estimated his assets at about $559 million, including two
private islands and four homes, and said his mansion on
Manhattan's Upper East Side was alone worth $77 million.
Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 said they were aspiring models
working at a restaurant off Manhattan's Union Square when they
were approached in June 2004 by an unnamed female "recruiter,"
identified as Sue Roe, who worked for Epstein.
Lisa Bloom, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said in a statement that
her clients were 18 and 20 years old at the time, without saying
which was which. She did not immediately respond on Friday to a
request for comment.
According to the complaint, Roe offered the plaintiffs
hundreds of dollars each to massage Epstein at his Manhattan
mansion.
The complaint said Roe told Jane Doe 1 that her "boss"
thought Jane Doe 1 was beautiful and liked to give young girls
"opportunities," and that Roe "intimated" to Jane Doe 2 that
there might be opportunities to make more money.
Both plaintiffs said that despite Roe's assurances that
Epstein would not subject them to unwanted touching, his conduct
became aggressive during the massages, including that he
forcefully touched their breasts and masturbated.
The plaintiffs said they were unaware they were victims of
Epstein's alleged sex-trafficking scheme until last month when
he was arrested.
Bloom said more plaintiffs will likely join the case.
On Wednesday, Jennifer Araoz, 32, sued Epstein's estate in a
New York state court in Manhattan, saying Epstein sexually
abused her when she was 14.
That lawsuit was made possible under the Child Victims Act,
a New York state law that opened a one-year window to sue over
alleged sexual abuse, regardless of when it occurred.
Thursday's lawsuit, in contrast, accused Epstein, Sue Roe
and other unnamed alleged accomplices of violating the federal
Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
An autopsy of Epstein found that his neck had been broken in
several places, two law enforcement sources said.
Epstein had been alone in his cell when he was found hanging
there. He had previously been on suicide watch.