A self-described victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation sued Epstein’s estate and his partner-in-crime, convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, on Wednesday in the Supreme Court of New York.
Elizabeth Stein, who first came forward in 2021, alleged years of abuse, stalking and manipulation by the pair that culminated in suicide attempts, multiple hospitalizations and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Stein became part of what the suit describes as Epstein and Maxwell’s “decades-long organized scheme to procure young females for their own sexual pleasure and that of their friends and acquaintances, many of them high government officials and corporate titans” between 1994 and 1997, according to the filing.
She met Maxwell while interning with designer Henri Bendel, whose Manhattan boutique was owned by Epstein’s benefactor and Limited Brands CEO Les Wexner, when Maxwell requested Stein wait on her at the store and deliver her purchases to the hotel where she was staying with Epstein.
“Grooming” the 21-year-old with “flattery, gifts, feigned interest in her future, and false promises of advancing her career and personal life,” the couple convinced Stein to come up to their room before pressuring her into a threesome and sending her off with a hefty cash “tip.”
The lawsuit describes how the pair “shamed her when she refused their favors and overtures and stalked her with the malicious and malevolent purpose of turning her into sexual meat for consumption by themselves and others.” Stein, it says, felt powerless to resist the couple’s advances after Maxwell got her fired for refusing a promotion Maxwell had secured for her, then followed her to her next position.
Maxwell and Epstein allegedly subjected Stein to group rapes and other assaults, including a trip to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion where she was held for several days against her will while she was violated by the couple and their guests. Upon learning she had become pregnant, Stein says she was treated to an abortion by Maxwell, became depressed, and “caused herself to crash her car.”
Afterwards, Epstein and Maxwell allegedly stalked her with messages warning that “they were still watching her and would find her.” She became suicidal and required repeated hospitalizations, emerging with a PTSD diagnosis and requiring continued medical treatment.
The suit charges Epstein and Maxwell with assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and gross negligence, demanding financial penalties and a jury trial. It was filed the day before the closure of the filing window created by the state’s Adult Survivors Act, which allowed victims to sue their abusers even if the statute of limitations has expired.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence at Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institute for trafficking underage girls for sex.