A Minnesota woman filed a $500 million lawsuit against the estate of Jeffrey Epstein over alleged sexual abuse at the hands of the late financier.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Dakota County, Minnesota, claimed that Epstein committed “drug-facilitated sexual assaults” against the plaintiff “throughout the majority of her childhood and her adult life.”
The woman argued that Epstein presented her as an “underage prostitute” to his wealthy clients and forced her into an “immoral relationship of sexual and economic servitude.” The lawsuit also alleged that Epstein filmed her while she committed sexual acts to use as blackmail.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution involving a minor and served 13 months in prison, but he was allowed to leave prison six days a week on work release. More substantial charges of sex trafficking came forward in 2019. He was facing 45 years in prison when he was found dead in his jail cell. The New York City coroner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide.
The Minnesota-based lawsuit is one of several civil battles facing Epstein’s estate, including dozens of filings from women with similar allegations of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice also filed a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate in an attempt to seize the convicted sex offender’s two private islands.
