This article contains details that may disturb some readers.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly raped and abused a young woman, including in front of her eight-year-old son, in 2008, according to a new lawsuit.
The documents allege the woman - who is being referred to only as Jane Doe and was 26 years old at the time - was also trafficked by the pair to have sex with other men, including an unnaned judge, and was forced to undergo vaginal surgery so she could be marketed as a virgin.
Among the allegations is that Epstein and Maxwell repeatedly raped the woman at a Naples, Florida hotel in front of her eight-year-old child.
The Miami Herald was the first to report the new allegations, noting that previous lawsuits against Epstein - the convicted sex offender who committed suicide in 2019 - followed a pattern of him recruiting and then abusing young women. This lawsuit, however, "involves allegations far more sinister" the Herald reports.
The paper states that the woman, a real-estate broker, met Epstein and Maxwell in late 2006 or early 2007 at a barbecue held by her employer, who knew the financier. Over the coming months, it's claimed the pair became more a part of her life, promising to find her employment, giving her expensive gifts and at one point taking her passport for "safekeeping".
Eventually, the woman agreed to work for Epstein. The Herald says when she turned up to his mansion in January 2008 to cut his hair, he was naked. The lawsuit alleges that he and Maxwell then raped her. She claims Epstein showed her guns to intimidate her.
The documents, according to the Herald, then say the woman tried to leave to alert police. Maxwell said she had already rung the cops. Two people claiming to be officers arrived at the mansion and threatened to arrest the woman for prostitution.
The lawsuit says Epstein and Maxwell drove the woman home, picking up her son on the way. Midway in their drive, the pair allegedly drove to the side of the road by a waterway filled with alligators.
"Epstein then ushered the plaintiff to the body of water and told her in explicit detail that - as had happened to other women in the past, according to the pair - she would end up in this body of water and be devoured should she ever reveal what Epstein had done to her."
The Herald says Doe never went to authorities as she was so traumatised.
In mid-2008, Epstein faced allegations he had molested young girls. He was eventually given federal immunity but was sentenced on prostitution charges, serving 13 months in prison.
Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on sex trafficing charges. He was in prison awaiting trial when he committed suicide.
Maxwell is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. It is set down for July.
