EFTA00077361.pdf

From: To: Cc: Subject: The Sisters Who First Tried to Take Down Jeffrey Epstein Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2019 15:30:42 +0000 The Sisters Who First Tried to Take Down Jeffrey Epstein NYT By Mike Baker 8/26/19 As more women have come forward in recent days to describe assaults at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, finds herself distraught, wondering what might have happened if someone had taken her seriously. Twenty-four years ago, Ms. was an artist who had entered the unorthodox life Mr. Epstein lived behind the doors of his luxury estates. Mr. Epstein had offered to help her painting career, but it all came to an abrupt end one night in the summer of 1996, when she says Mr. Epstein and his companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, began violently groping her. She learned later that her M ,IM had been subjected to a troubling topless massage at Mr. Epstein's ranch in New Mexico. 111=ontacted the New York Police Department, and said she then went to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, offering to share what she knew about Mr. Epstein and the parade of y being brought to Mr. Epstein's houses. Though the bureau has never acknowledged such a contact, laid the F.B.I. must have had a record of it, because agents came back to her — years later — with questions. She also went to leaders in the New York art world that Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell frequented, and the sisters tried to tell their story to a national magazine. In each case, their reports went nowhere. Final) , facin what she said were threats as a result of the sisters' claims, Ms abandoned her "I did not want another young lady to go through what went through," recent interview. pi id in a interview. "I could handle what happened to me. I coul no andle what happen to er. Mr. Epstein would continue to lure vulnerable girls into his predatory circle for another nine years before investigators began diving deep into his world. After being arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors in New York and Florida, Mr. Epstein died earlier this month in what the authorities said was an apparent suicide. Other women have come forward in recent years with more serious claims of rape and child abuse against Mr. Epstein, but the reports — made 23 years ago — are the earliest known allegations about Mr. Epstein's troubling physical contact with girls and young women. In their detailed accounts, told here for the first time, they offer a glimpse of how Mr. Epstein managed to avoid significant scrutiny for years, even as concerns about his conduct began to pile up. EFTA00077361 M aid that she feels guilty about having brought _into Mr. Epstein's orbit. She mourns the victims who came after her, she said, her voice cracking each time she mentioned the name of one of them. She has spent years trying to live in seclusion. The First Meeting ned t She already had a specialty, exploring figures of nudes and adolescents, and had a chance to train under one of her idols, the painter and sculptor One of her paintings was done in a voyeuristic style, showing a man in the frame of a doorway looking at a woman on a sofa — a painting she said was inspired by Edgar Degas' famous piece, "Interior," which is sometimes known as "The Rape." At a gallery show for her graduation, aid, the dean of the academy, introduced her to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell, an to er to sell them the painting with the man in the doorway at a discount. (Ms. said she did not recall such an interaction.) Afterward, said, Mr. Epstein called her to offer her a job acquiring art on his behalf, and later managing the entrance to a townhouse he was renovating. There, at the age of 25, she was introduced to Mr. Epstein's odd life, with girls and young women coming through for what she recalled Ms. Maxwell describing as modeling auditions for the lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret. The house at times bustled in anticipation of potential visits from Bill Clinton, although she never actually saw him there. She said she met Donald Trump one day in Mr. E stein's office recallin Mr. Trum eyeing her before Mr. Epstein informed him that "she's not for you." ailed her daughter detailing the interaction with Mr. Trump aroun t e time it occurr . Both Mr. Clinton and Mr. Trump have acknowledged knowing Mr. Epstein, with Mr. Clinton denying knowledge of anything improper and Mr. Trump saying he was "not a fan" of Mr. Epstein. Ms. Maxwell was charming and friendly, aid, and as Mr. Epstein's companion, she offered young women a level of assurance that the were safe in his presence. But she also seemed to play an important role in bringing young women in, said, recalling that Ms. Maxwell would leave the house saying, "I've got to go get girls for Jeffrey." Ms. Maxwell would refer to the girls she was looking for as "nubiles," said. "They had a driver, and he would be driving along, and Ghislaine would say, `Get that girl,'" she said. "And they'd stop, and she'd run out and get the girl and talk to her." Lawyers for Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein did not respond to requests for comment for this article. One of the girls in whom the couple took an interest was I nad mentioned to them that was looking to go to college. Mr. Epstein offered to help, and brought hen said she recalled Mr. Epstein as kind and casual, wearing sweatpants, pouring champagne and talking about her college plans. During the trip, they all went to see a movie. As the film progressed, Mr. Epstein EFTA00077362 began rubbing and, and then her lower leg, she said. "It was one of those things that just gave me a weird feeling but wasn't that weird + probably normal," Ms. _wrote in a diary entry dated Jan c 1Q96. "The one thing that kind of weirded me out about it was he let go of my hand when he was talking to M K Mr. Epstein offered to send n a trip to Thailand, and invited her to his New Mexico ranch for a weekend. Under the im ression a e ga ering would include a number of students chaperoned by Ms. Maxwell, said she allowed to go. But when she arrived in New Mexico, ■ said, it was just her and Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell. There were more uncomfortable interactions that weekend, she said. She recalled Ms. Maxwell persuading her to give Mr. Epstein a foot massage and then giving pointers as she performed it. They went to another movie, where Mr. Epstein continued another round of his petting touches, she said. Then, when she woke up in the house one morning, she recalled him coming into the room, saying he wanted to cuddle, and getting into bed next to her. lso recalled Ms. Maxwell repeatedly asking whether she wanted a massage. Eventually relenting, followed directions by taking off her clothes and bra and getting under a sheet on a massage table. Ms. Maxwell performed the massage, at one point having alie on her back as Ms. Maxwell pulled down the sheet to massage her chest. "I don't think there was any reason for her to be touching me that way," maid. Mr. Epstein didn't participate, but said she could sense that he was in the area and possibly watching. The First Reports At the time, was unaware of the interactions her lad in New Mexico. She went to Ohio around that time, utilizing Mr. Epstein's large estate there to focus on her paintings. Later in the summer, Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell paid a visit. One night, she recalled getting an unusual request: Mr. Epstein needed his feet massaged. The foot massage was brief and awkward, -recalled, as Mr. Epstein groaned with what seemed like exaggerated pleasure, followed by a yelp of pain. Then he invited her to sit on the bed, where he was watching a PBS program about math. Ms. Maxwell joined them on the bed id, and the night took a sudden turn: Both Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell began groping over her clothes, rubbing her body, commenting on her features, and twisting her nipples to the point of bruisin . She said they did so in unison, mirroring each other's movements. Fearing that she was about to be raped, eventually fled the room and barricaded herself in another part of the house. he soon discovered that three nude photographs she had kept in a storage box were missing. The photos were of nd modeling for Maria's figurative paintings. art mentor, said she began phoning people in a panic, lookin for help. One of the people she reached was her In an interview, he recalled describing a physical encounter in the bedroom, fear for her sister and outrage about the missing photographs. "I just kept telling `You've got to get out of there. You've got to get out of there,'"aid. EFTA00077363 father,also recalled getting a call. He did not know the specifics of what transpired, but said his daughter was upset enough that he drove to the estate in Ohio from Kentucky to get her. After s eakin withpland learning that ad had her own troubles with Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell, said, s e returned to New York. She recalled getting a phone call from Ms. Maxwell, saying she planned to burn all of Ms. art and that her career was over. Frightened, Ms. aid she went to a local police precinct to report what had happened to her in Ohio, and about the art. Officers at the New York Police Department precinct took a report on the purported threat and on the art theft allegation, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. But they referred her to other agencies including the F.B.I., concerning the assault allegation, because Ohio was outside their jurisdiction, Ms. said. aid she telephoned the F.B.I. and spoke for about half an hour with the agent who answered the p one. e agent did not say what would happen with her report, she said. She asked if she should phone other law enforcement officials in individual states, like Ohio and New Mexico, and was told that was "up to you," she said. She recalled contacting at least one other jurisdiction — she did not remember which — and making no progress. An F.B.I. spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the agency had a report of such a call from in its files. In recent days, the art collector said he recalled running into at a flea market around that time, and hearing her discuss serious concerns about Mr. Epstein that she sai s e ad reported to law enforcement. aid she also raised her concerns about Mt Epstein with leaders in the art community, including Ms. who had first put her in touch with Mr. Epstein. But she said Ms. did not seem to take the issue seriously. Ms. said in an interview that the details she was aware of at the time did not rise to a level that would require intervention. The made another run at telling their story in 2003 to Vicky Ward, a reporter for Vanity Fair, whic a commissioned a story about Mr. Epstein's complicated finances that would also mention his proclivity for young girls. The article was published with no mention oa and they felt they were left badly exposed. Ms. Ward wrote on her personal blog in 2011 that the article went in a different direction because of "not knowin quite whom to believe." The editor, Graydon Carter, said in an email that Ms. Ward's sourcing on the account did not meet the magazine's legal standards. But Ms. Ward indicated on Twitter recently that she believed Mt Carter had succumbed to pressure from Mr. Epstein. John Connolly, a former contributing editor at Vanity Fair, said he recalled Mr. Carter talking about the efforts Mt Epstein had made to influence the article. When word got out that the sisters had given a detailed interview to the magazine, the angry phone calls to her resumedaaid. "Better be careful and watch your back," she said Ms. Maxwell told her. "She said, `I know you go to the West Side Highway all the time. While you're out there, just be really careful because there are a lot of ways to die there.'" The Aftermath EFTA00077364 aid the threats led her to abandon her life in the New York art scene, where Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell still held considerable sway. Whileahas moved forward with life, obtaining a Ph.D. and working as a psychotherapist, niggled to move past the year she spent with Mr. Epstein. She felt sickened by her own paintings, liked Mr. Epstein had apparently appreciated not for their artistic value, but for their depiction of nude forms of girls. Unable to forget the comments Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell had made about her breasts, aid she underwent breast reduction surgery. It wasn't until 2006, when F.B.I. agents knocked on her door in that ound renewed hope that Mr. Epstein would be held accountable. New allegations a ou r. pstein a sur aced the previous year, when a report by a teenager in Florida spurred an extensive investigation that uncovered a wide range of young girls who had been recruited to visit Mr. Epstein's lavish home in Palm Beach. Heavily redacted records released b the F.B.I. a ear to show handwritten notes from November 2006 interviews with utlining key details of their stories, including visit to the New York police and her referral to the F.B.I. But though the investigation progressed, a widely criticized plea deal eventually quashed any federal prosecution. To , the 2008 plea agreement, which allowed Mr. Epstein to plead guilty merely to much less serious stati.was deeply demoralizing. as starting to put some of it behind her when the latest news about Mr. Epstein began to emerge, an more victims began coming forward. She found herself crying when she saw those accounts, wondering what it would have taken to stop him when she first tried. Though the time for a lawsuit has long passed, she has been working with a lawyer, David Boies, to support other victims of Mr. Epstein. "Every time I hear one of the girls tell their story, it devastates me," said. a ril° recently received a diagnosis of said she still has some fear about coming forward to tell her own story, even after Mr. Epstein's death. She recently moved to a new home to improve her privacy. In her new residence, she has laid out an art studio in front of windows that offer a peek-a-boo view of a nearby lake. She has started painting again, for the first time in years, and new pieces are stacked up against the walls. One day, she said, she will try to bring artistic shape to her experience with Mr. Epstein. But for now, she has been focused on a series of paintings of families and children. They are not like her earlier paintings, the ones Mr. Epstein liked. All the girls are clothed. ew York EFTA00077365