Epstein’s Former personal assistant Sarah Kellen, once described as his “lieutenant” and listed as a potential co-conspirator, now claims she was actually his victim. Karen testified before the House Oversight Committee that she was groomed, controlled and “violently raped” by the disgraced financier for more than 20 years.
According to the New York Post, Karen told the House Oversight Committee that the abuse occurred in multiple locations, including Epstein’s private jet, known as the “Lolita Express,” and his private island, Little St. James. “This is not a resort; this is an isolated place,” she said.
She also said the first time Epstein tricked her into stripping was during what she thought was a Victoria’s Secret casting. “I had just put on my bra and underwear, which seemed logical because it was a Victoria’s Secret casting, and I remember like doing a little twist and turning around so he could see my body,” she recalled.
“Only after Jeffrey confirmed that I would accept his sexual abuse did he start paying me,” she said. “I totally understand the math. I was paid, in part, to be raped.”
One of the most disturbing incidents described by Karen occurred at a Palm Beach gym where Epstein “played music so loud that no one could hear, choked me and violently raped me.” She also testified that the abuse did not stop even after Epstein began serving an 18-month prison sentence in 2008. “He even called me from a computer inside a Palm Beach County fence and ordered me to undress him on camera,” she said, adding that the call came “out of the blue.”
Epstein was found dead in a lower Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and his death was ruled a suicide, the New York Post reported.
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Here are 5 things to know about her:
- Karen, now 46, who grew up among Jehovah’s Witnesses, first met Epstein when he tricked her into stripping under the guise of a Victoria’s Secret casting call.
- She began working as Epstein’s personal assistant in 2001, earning just $25,000 a year, being on call 24/7, and said she was hired after agreeing to be sexually abused by Epstein.
- She had previously been named as a potential co-conspirator in Epstein’s 2007 non-prosecution agreement and was described in Justice Department documents as Epstein’s “dispatcher and recruiter/pimp of girls,” but she maintains she was a victim trapped in his world for more than 20 years.
- Karen said years of abuse left her with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an inability to think independently, with Epstein even controlling personal details such as her hairstyle and hair color.
- Her testimony before the House Oversight Committee marked the first time she has publicly claimed she was sexually assaulted, and Chairman James Cuomo called it the “most substantive and productive interview to date” the committee has conducted in the Epstein investigation.
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Karen also talked about Ghislaine Maxwell called her “despicable and dismissive” but added that she was also afraid of Epstein. “I would see him bring Ghislaine to tears, and I thought she was the strongest, most ruthless woman I had ever met,” she said. Maxwell allegedly called himself and Karen Epstein “slaves and minions.”
