Ghislaine Maxwell is facing a lawsuit from a woman who claims that she and Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused her for years more than three decades ago.
In a complaint filed in New York on Wednesday, Elizabeth Stein alleges that after she met Maxwell at Henri Bendel department store around 1994 she began a long, abusive relationship with the couple that resulted in her having an abortion.
In addition to Maxwell, the executors of Epstein’s estate are named as defendants in the suit.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of a series of sexual offences. Epstein was awaiting trial when he died in his New York prison cell, apparently by suicide, in 2019.
The filing comes on the heels of the expiration of the Adult Survivor’s Act, a one-year lookback window for survivors of sexual assault to file civil claims that would be barred by New York statute of limitations. The deadline to file claims is Friday.
Elizabeth Stein, left, and Sarah Ransome, alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, outside federal court in New York in 2022— (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
According to the lawsuit, Maxwell first met Ms Stein, then-21, at Henri Bendel, where she was employed as a shop assistant. Ms Stein said the woman informed her that one of her friends was closely connected to Les Wexner, the store’s owner.
Maxwell asked her to help her as she picked out items. She then made several purchases and asked that Ms Stein personally deliver them to the St Regis, a Manhattan hotel.
When Ms Stein arrived at the hotel, she found the couple sitting at the bar.
The pair invited her to join them for a drink. Soon after, a concierge informed the couple that their room was ready. They asked Ms Stein to bring the items up to their accommodation, the lawsuit states.
Though Ms Stein thought the request was odd, she completed the task, fearing that not doing so could compromise her job.
The couple then invited Ms Stein to join them in their room. She did.
The three then began to have a long conversation. After a while, Epstein went to the bathroom, court records allege, and Maxwell followed him.
The two came out wearing bathrobes, according to the suit. The couple continued speaking to Ms Stein – however, this time asking about her sex life, the suit states, including whether she was in a relationship.
The shop assistant told them that she had a boyfriend.
Later in the interaction, the couple began kissing. They asked Ms Stein if she had ever been in a threesome, according to the documents. She replied that she had not.
In response, the pair asked Ms Stein to join them. She reluctantly agreed, the suit states. The three subsequently began to engage in sexual contact until Ms Stein asked them to stop.
When her request was ignored, she told the couple that her boyfriend was on his way to her home and she needed to leave.
Epstein then handed her a “tip”, according to the court documents. Ms Stein proceeded to leave the hotel.
“This was the start of a three-year nightmare for Plaintiff, during which Maxwell and Epstein stalked Plaintiff, sexually abused her and trafficked her to their ‘friends’ for more sexual abuse”, the complaint states.
Ms Stein began frequently seeing Maxwell and Epstein in New York. Around 1995, the couple invited her on a trip to Florida. She accepted. When Ms Stein returned home following the trip, she discovered she was pregnant, the suit states.
Maxwell encouraged her to have an abortion, which she did, according to the suit. Ms Stein said that the pregnancy came from a sexual assault that occurred when she was in Florida.
The Independent has reached out to Maxwell’s attorney for comment. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee. She’s been convicted of conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor.
The lawsuit did not specify a dollar amount being sought by Ms Stein, stating that monetary damages would be determined at trial.
