A document Among the newly released collection of Jeffrey Epstein files sheds new light on the psychological tricks his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell used in her efforts to lure vulnerable teenage girls into his abusive orbit.
I was passionate. I joked. She even seemed to be listening.
While Maxwell’s grooming of victims has long been known, the release of some grand jury documents in her case in Manhattan federal court comes as she seeks relief from her sex trafficking conviction and 20-year prison sentence. Maxwell’s maneuvers have received renewed attention throughout Donald Trump’s second presidency — especially in the wake of her controversial transfer to a minimum-security detention camp known to be more comfortable than other facilities of its kind.
The documents in question show how a law enforcement officer in 2020 told a grand jury about an interview with a woman who said she was abused by Epstein when she was a minor. She said her first visits to Epstein’s home, during which she was not abused, were “weird.”
But “Maxwell normalized it for her,” the office said. “She was like a wonderful, older sister and made comments like: ‘That’s what grown-ups do.’” The woman said she saw Maxwell topless by Epstein’s pool. “I backed away a little, but Maxwell acted normal,” the officer recounted.
The woman said that when Epstein’s sexual abuse began, other women were sometimes present, including Maxwell. “They would generally start with one of the girls massaging Epstein… and she would usually massage his feet,” the agent said of this woman’s account. “Maxwell was kind of teasing the other girls. She was grabbing the girl’s breasts, telling the girls what to do.”
“She was trying not to look at Maxwell because she gave off the appearance of a sister, so it seemed strange to her,” the law enforcement agent said of this victim’s account. “She was trying to be invisible in the room so they would ignore her as much as possible.”
The accused described Maxwell’s situation as “very normal – she acted as if this was normal.”
“It gave her that vibe,” the agent recalled the victim saying while sitting with law enforcement. When asked if that made her feel more comfortable about what was happening, the agent said, “It did.”
The extent of sexual activity with Epstein increased over time. During this woman’s interview with law enforcement, she was asked about her feelings about Epstein and Maxwell at the time.
“She expressed that she felt they loved her,” the agent told the grand jury. “She felt like they were her family, that they supported her, and… it made her feel like she needed to be grateful to them.”
Although the woman’s identity is not identified in this grand jury transcript, the account of the abuse closely follows “Jane’s” testimony during Maxwell’s trial. Jane told jurors that Epstein began abusing her at age 14, and Maxwell was sometimes in the room.
At trial, Jane said Maxwell would sometimes touch her breasts. “Hands were everywhere,” Jane recounted one of her encounters with Epstein and Maxwell. She also described group sexual encounters with each other and with others.
Still more grand jury testimony from the agent regarding another victim confirms complex grooming. That victim’s name was also omitted, but the law enforcement agent’s description of her experience closely mirrors Annie Farmer’s testimony at trial. Farmer testified that Maxwell gave her a nude massage at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch when she was 16 years old.
“Maxwell said [her] The agent remembers giving Epstein a foot massage and then showing her and instructing her on how to do it.[She] It was a little uncomfortable, but Maxwell was joking so I followed her lead.
The grand jury testimony also drew more attention to how Maxwell tried to keep the atmosphere light during a trip to the movies.
“She said that when they walked offstage, Maxwell was joking and pulled Epstein’s pants down a little,” the law enforcement agent said. “And then as soon as they entered the stage, Epstein touched hands while they were sitting [her] He touched her leg, rubbed her arm, and held her hand. And this time… he wasn’t trying to hide it from Maxwell.
Another victim told a law enforcement agent that she was speaking with Maxwell during the early period she went to Epstein’s home.
“I spoke with Maxwell about her home life,” the law enforcement agent said. “I spoke to Maxwell about her abuse when she was younger.
“I told her that…her mother was a drug addict and that she had been molested several times as a child.”
Maxwell asked the girl if she was sexually active and if she had ever used sex toys before. She recalled receiving packages containing Victoria’s Secret lingerie – and the return address listed Maxwell and Epstein’s name.
The woman was interviewed by law enforcement in 2007. Epstein in 2008 took a plea deal that allowed him to plead guilty to state prostitution charges in Florida and avoid federal prosecution, amid allegations that he sexually assaulted dozens of teenage girls.
She did not mention Maxwell during a 2007 interview. The law enforcement officer was asked “why.”
He said: You were not asked.
“She was not asked about Maxwell,” the prosecutor repeated during the grand jury session.
“Correct,” the agent confirmed.
The woman said she didn’t think Maxwell was “important” in the 2007 interview.
The law enforcement agent’s testimony about this woman’s account does not include her name, but appears to refer to Caroline, the third woman to testify at Maxwell’s trial. Caroline, who said during the trial that she turned to “painkillers and cocaine” to “block” Epstein’s abuse, died of a drug overdose in May 2023.
When asked to comment on the grand jury documents, Maxwell’s brother Ian said he understood the interest in such transcripts, but “it is important to remember that such material is not evidence of guilt or evidence of anyone’s conduct. Grand jury procedures are preliminary and one-sided by design – they allow prosecutors to present their case without objection or cross-examination.”
He added: “For this reason, the transcripts do not provide a balanced or complete picture of the facts. They cannot show the broader context, and do not reflect the responses, explanations or evidence that the defense might present in the courtroom.”