An unsealing of over 130 court files on Friday has shed more light on the activities of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealing interactions with high-profile individuals and further details about his sexual abuse of underage girls.
Among the revelations are testimonies about Prince Andrew’s visits to Epstein’s residence and phone records indicating contact with former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who is serving a prison sentence in a rape case, according to news agency AP.
This is the third set of documents made public in the Epstein case. The unsealed records stem from a defamation lawsuit filed by one of Epstein’s victims against his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015, which was settled two years later.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of sex trafficking.
PRINCE ANDREW’S STAYS AT EPSTEIN’S HOUSE
Former housekeeper Juan Alessi provided a deposition discussing Prince Andrew’s extended stays at Epstein’s Palm Beach home, where he received daily massages, reported AP.
Alessi mentioned seeing other celebrities, including Donald Trump, who dined at the mansion but did not participate in massages as he had his own spa facilities.
PHONE MESSAGE FROM HARVEY WEINSTEIN
The documents also contain phone messages from 2004, one year before Epstein’s initial investigation, with mentions of Harvey Weinstein and French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, both of whom have faced their own legal troubles related to sexual misconduct.
Testimonies from Epstein’s former driver, Tony Figueroa, revealed that he and others were paid to bring girls to Epstein, with Ghislaine Maxwell also involved in the recruitment process, as per the AP report.
RECRUITING UNDERAGE GIRLS
Figueroa said, “Jeffrey was giving us $200 apiece for every one that we brought over.” He added, “I would get friends that I went to school with and I would take them over there and introduce them, and then I would just leave.”
Johanna Sjoberg, another employee, recounted Epstein’s bizarre request for her to bear his child and described shopping trips where Epstein selected lingerie for her.
Jeffery Epstein killed himself in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The millionaire invited politicians and academics to his private island and luxury homes and offered celebrities rides on his private jet. His former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison term for helping recruit and abuse Epstein’s victims.
