Jeffrey Epstein accuser Jennifer Araoz sued the late pedophile’s estate and his gal pal Ghislaine Maxwell on Wednesday as part of the first wave of civil actions under the newly enacted Child Victims Act.
Araoz said she was just 15 when the financier raped her at his tony Manhattan townhouse.
“I am here because today is my first step toward reclaiming my power,” Araoz said on a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning. “While I am angry about Epstein’s death, my resolve is only strengthened. None of that is diminished simply because he chose to take his own life.”
In her Manhattan Supreme Court suit, the Queens resident lists Epstein’s estate, his girlfriend and alleged madam Maxwell and three unidentified women she described as a “recruiter,” “secretary” and “maid” as defendants.
The complaint contains the same details that Araoz, now 32, divulged in a July interview. She claimed she was recruited at her performing arts high school at age 14 by a mysterious brunette and introduced to Epstein, who began giving her money.
After about a month of meetings, the hedge fund manager allegedly raped her during a massage in his “favorite room in the house,” the suit said.
“Araoz was petrified, felt trapped and didn’t know what to do, so she just did as she was told,” the suit said. “Epstein held her tightly and forcibly raped her.”
She is suing the three unidentified women, claiming they knew Epstein was a pedophile but did nothing to stop him.
Maxwell “identified and hired the recruiter on behalf of defendant Epstein to procure underage girls from Talent Unlimited High School and other schools, and oversaw the process that lead [sic] to the recruitment and grooming of Ms. Araoz,” the suit alleged.
“There are adults who worked close within orbit, who scheduled appointments with these girls, who hired recruiters, who worked directly with the pipeline of girls who were fed to him,” said Araoz’s lawyer Dan Kaiser. “They are all culpable.”
Kaiser said while Araoz never had direct contact with Maxwell, the lawyers are seeking to depose her.
More Epstein victims are expected to file lawsuits against the perv’s estate after the Child Victims Act became law, opening a one-year period in which child sex abuse survivors can sue no matter how long ago the incident happened.
Epstein is believed to have hanged himself with a bedsheet while locked up in the Metropolitan Correctional Center on Saturday. He had been cooling his heels behind bars on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Lawyers for Araoz said she’s been “fully cooperating” with Manhattan prosecutors, who have vowed the investigation into Epstein’s alleged crimes will continue.
They also want answers from jail officials over Epstein’s apparent suicide and are seeking what, if any, legal recourse they may have.
“Why was he taken off of suicide watch and who signed off on it? There are a lot of questions,” said lawyer Kimberly Lerner. “They let Jennifer and the other victims down.”
Lawyers for Epstein’s estate and Maxwell did not immediately return messages.
