Billionaire Leon Black Accused of Raping Jeffrey Epstein's 'Special Girl'

Jul 13, 2023

Leon Black has been accused of violently raping a 16-year-old girl with autism and Down syndrome while asking "what made her 'Jeffrey [Epstein's] special girl,'" according to a New York lawsuit.

Black retired from his investment firm Apollo in July 2021, after a review found he paid Epstein $158 million for financial advice between 2012 and 2017, after the pedophile's criminal conviction.

A woman has since come forward with historic allegations that he violently raped her, including using a sex toy, leaving "an indelible mark on her, both physically and psychologically."

The case filed at Federal Court in New York on July 25 is in its early stages and Black's lawyers said the allegations were "totally made up," suggesting they had been brought by a law firm with a vendetta.

Susan Estrich, of Estrich Goldin, Black's attorney, said in a statement released to Newsweek: "This is a frivolous and sanctionable lawsuit. Mr. Black has never met this individual."

Newsweek has reached out to Apollo for comment.

The woman, named only as Jane Doe, is now in her 30s and was born with mosaic Down syndrome, a rare condition which gave her some of the features of typical Down syndrome but did not affect her physical appearance.

At age 16, when the abuse allegedly took place, she had a mental age of 12, according to her lawyers.

The teenager was initially groomed by a woman named "Elizabeth," who ran cheerleading classes, before being sent to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for periods of time.

It was on one of these visits that she says she was introduced to Black as Epstein's "special friend," in New York, in 2002.

"Black took Plaintiff by her hand," her complaint, seen by Newsweek, reads. "Squeezing it so hard that she thought he might have broken bones, and led her upstairs to a massage room on the third floor of the townhouse.

"She had been in the room with Epstein on her prior stay at the townhouse. In the room there were a variety of oils and adult sex toys next to the massage table.

"Plaintiff assumed that Black would proceed to disrobe before laying down on themassage table, the way Epstein usually did.

"Instead, Black picked Plaintiff up and threw her over his shoulder and then threwher violently down on the massage table on her back, so hard he knocked the wind out of Plaintiff.

"She thought the massage table might have broken. She tried to scream but Black placed his hand over her mouth and leaned over her while ripping off her shirt and under her skirt pulling her underwear off.

"Plaintiff was crying and terrified. Black asked her repeatedly what made her 'Jeffrey's special girl' and throughout the assault called her demeaning, shameful, disgusting names.

"Plaintiff could not see, but rather heard Black rummaging among the adult toys nearby and he roughly snapped her legs apart causing Plaintiff to feel as if her pelvic bone had been broken," the complaint document continued.

Black then allegedly raped the teenager while using a sex toy on another part of her body, "using such force that Plaintiff felt tearing in her internal tissue. When Plaintiff screamed out in agony, Black again covered her mouth with one of his hands."

The filing says she was still crying when Black put his mouth between her legs and she "felt a sharp pain" like a "hard pinch," causing her to scream.

"At the scream, Black lifted his head out from under her skirt and she saw blood on his mouth and she panicked and kicked him with her right leg," the filing reads. "Plaintiff realized that struggling would be useless given how much stronger and physically more massive Black was and instead pleaded with Black to stop as she sobbed."

"The violent and sadistic nature of Black's rape left an indelible mark on her, both physically and psychologically. Plaintiff suffered internal abrasions" that "continue to cause her pain," the woman's lawyers said.

"To this day, Plaintiff often is triggered each month at the beginning of her menstrualcycle as the sight of blood from her body causes Plaintiff to suffer from panic attacks, reliving the attack that she endured at Black's hands."

Prior to meeting Black, she had been further groomed by Epstein and Maxwell, who showed her how to "make Jeffrey happy," the court filing says.

"Both Maxwell and Epstein gave Plaintiff 'happy claps' for her brilliant success, the way parents do with five year olds," after she caused Epstein to climax, the woman's lawyers say.

"They made Plaintiff share a bed with them at night so that they could 'cuddle' andEpstein could wrap his arms around both Plaintiff and Maxwell," the court document reads.

"On other occasions, Plaintiff was required to sit on Epstein's lap with her feetdraped over Maxwell's legs as Epstein also complimented her about how beautiful she was and how much he was drawn to her mix of blonde hair and blue eyes and porcelain skin."

She was first taken by Elizabeth to meet Maxwell at a party in late summer 2001, when "Maxwell spent the conversation lavishing Plaintiff with compliments, referring to her as 'a beautiful darling girl' and said that she was 'a beautiful girl with the most beautiful bright blue eyes, blonde hair and perfect hair' that made her look like a living 'doll,'" the court filing says.

Estrich's statement, on Black's behalf, suggested the woman's attorneys at law firm Wigdor had already failed in another lawsuit against Black.

She said: "These vicious and defamatory lies, masquerading as allegations, have been intentionally manufactured by the Wigdor law firm as part of the firm's vendetta against Mr. Black for vigorously and successfully defending himself over the past two years.

"Wigdor's prior case against Mr. Black was recently thrown out by the Court and this one will be too. These allegations—about an incident that supposedly took place 20 years ago—are totally made up and are entirely uncorroborated.

"This sham proceeding will be promptly dismissed and will provide further ammunition for Mr. Black's pending sanctions motion against the Wigdor firm."

U.S. District Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke ordered a pre-trial conference between the parties set for October 19, 2023.

The case continues.