First names released
Las Vegas magician David Copperfield is among the names mentioned in the court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein sexual abuse case. Before his supposed suicide in custody in 2019, financier Epstein was accused of having both abused minors and facilitated the abuse of minors by his associates.
Shedding some light on those associates, officials have now released 40 documents related to the Virginia Giuffre v. Ghislaine Maxwell case. Abuse victim Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Epstein’s former fixer and convicted child trafficker Maxwell in 2015. Officials have now decided documents related to that case should be made public.
was friends with Epstein at the time of the abuse
The documents include names of some famous names who were either involved in or witnessed Epstein’s criminal conduct. Although Copperfield is not directly accused of sexual conduct, he is named in the documents as someone who was friends with Epstein at the time of the abuse and even performed magic tricks at a dinner.
The specifics
The documents focus on a deposition by Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg, who says she was recruited by Esptein as a massage therapist when she was 20. Epstein supposedly committed many of his crimes during this time in the early 2000s, including against Sjoberg herself.
Sjoberg answered affirmatively when asked if she ever met the acclaimed showman. She explained that this occurred at Epstein’s house, where many of the abuser’s crimes took place. Referring to Copperfield, she said: “Someone called me from the house and said that he would be there, and if I wanted to come have dinner, then I could meet him.”
She seemed young to me.”
She continued: “So when I arrived at the house, he wasn’t there yet, but I waited with, I believe, Sarah Kellen, and there was another girl there which I had never met and never seen,” adding: “She seemed young to me.” Sarah Kellen is Epstein’s former assistant. Sjoberg said that Copperfield then proceeded to perform some magic tricks at dinner.
Perhaps the most damning allegations came at the end of the section in which Sjoberg implied that Copperfield may have known of Epstein’s crimes. Referring to Copperfield, she said: “He questioned me if I was aware that girls were getting paid to find other girls” – a tactic that Epstein supposedly used to recruit underage girls that he and others could abuse.
Other mentions
Other names that appear in the documents include singer Michael Jackson, businessman Tom Pritzker, member of the British royal family Prince Andrew, and former US President Donald Trump.
One of the most damning pieces of testimony relates to former US President Bill Clinton, who Sjoberg claims supposedly “likes them young,” referring to his sexual preferences.
These first documents are just part of the records that will be unsealed in the case. Friday will see further files released.