Documents included in the disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein investigative files have further lifted the veil on how his ex-girlfriend and co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, kept victims in check.
Maxwell, who was convicted of luring teen girls into Epstein’s abusive world, deployed a powerful mix of jocular familiarity and cutting iciness in dealings with his victims and others in her orbit, according to accusers’ accounts that were included in this document tranche.
Some of these accounts appear to track court testimony from accusers at Maxwell’s trial or civil claims against her.
Though Maxwell’s history of procuring and grooming victims for Epstein is well documented, the release of these most recent files comes amid Maxwell’s efforts to fight her guilty verdict. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, has also remained a public relations problem for president Donald Trump.
Maxwell was transferred to a minimum-security prison camp after sitting for an interview with deputy attorney general Todd Blanche who, prior to joining the administration, worked as Trump’s criminal defense lawyer. Maxwell’s statements during the Blanche sit-down generally downplayed the president’s former friendship with Epstein.
One woman told investigators in 2019 that Maxwell treated her “like they were sisters” and “like naughty schoolgirls”.
“Maxwell was nice to and seemed interested in her,” a report about the interview recounted.
Maxwell leaned into this playfulness after Epstein started to abuse her. “When Epstein wanted to do something she did not want to do, Maxwell would minimize and say things like, ‘Don’t be silly,’” the report on this victim interview said.
“By the time they get to the sex acts, you have no fight left; they’ve demoralized you,” the victim told authorities.
Maxwell also asked whether she knew anyone who could give Epstein oral sex. “Maxwell did not feel like giving him one,” the report said. “Maxwell told her, ‘They have to look young at least,’ [and] assumed that young meant younger than herself.”
The woman said Maxwell and Epstein both spoke to her individually about having a child. Maxwell told the victim “that they should find someone for Epstein to have a child with” and that Maxwell allegedly said: “Well, it can’t be you, because you’re getting a bit old.”
The woman told authorities she felt that Maxwell was “just as responsible as Epstein”.
“Maxwell was the one responsible for telling girls how to do things and what to say … a lot of us were underage; she was responsible for a lot of the grooming,” the victim said, according to interview notes. The accuser described Maxwell as “a manipulator who acts sweet”.
The woman told authorities that the situation was akin to being in a “weird sick family”.
One woman interviewed nearly a year after Maxwell’s arrest said she was “still very afraid” of her.
“Maxwell is a powerful woman,” the victim told authorities, according to interview notes. The victim “was made aware of this during her time with Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell”.
The woman told authorities she was “concerned about retaliation because Maxwell is not a nice woman [and] described Maxwell as vicious”. The accuser also “observed that Maxwell did not like women very much’”.
The woman said that Maxwell “wanted to teach them how to pleasure Epstein correctly” after she arrived on Epstein’s private island.
“At some point when Maxwell was showing them how to do things, Epstein came out on the porch,” the interview notes stated. The accuser was embarrassed. “When Epstein walked onto the porch, he asked them what they were doing. Maxwell told him that she was teaching them. Epstein said, ‘Good, you girls listen to Ghislaine; she knows what she’s doing.’”
The victim initially “laughed it off” but it was “clear that she was uncomfortable. The accuser didn’t know that Maxwell was aware of what she was doing, thinking it was private. “Maxwell knew that [the accuser] did not want to do those things,” the interview notes said. “From there on out, Maxwell was authoritative.”
One woman said she met Maxwell at about age 16 and was ultimately abused by her and Epstein. She “wanted to make Maxwell happy”.
Maxwell and Epstein said they wanted to show her the world. “Maxwell was the mastermind to make all this happen for Epstein,” the woman told investigators in September 2019. “Sometimes Maxwell would be really nice if she wanted something” but “there was a dark side to Maxwell that would make [the victim] feel like garbage, as in ‘you owe me’ for what you’re eating … wearing etc.”
The accuser “described it as a dysfunctional family” that included Maxwell and Epstein. One time, abuse unfolded when they watching Sex and the City and eating popcorn together.
As the episode neared its end, the victim was massaging Epstein’s feet. He directed Maxwell to disrobe and perform sex acts on the victim.
Maxwell’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
