Jeffrey Epstein: newest accuser comes forward, says she was ‘perfect victim’
A woman who says she suffered lasting damage from sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein when she was 17 years old has sued his estate, joining the growing list of women who have sued the late disgraced financier.
Teala Davies filed her lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on Thursday and appeared at a news conference with attorney Gloria Allred.
In the news conference she called herself “the perfect victim” for a predator who took advantage of vulnerable underage teenagers and young women. Allred said her client had a difficult childhood that included being homeless for a year at age 11.
According to the lawsuit, Davies was raped and sexually abused by Epstein at his residences in New York, Paris, Florida, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands.
“It took me a long time to break free from his mind control and abuse,” Davies said in her statement. “I still have flashbacks. It still hurts.”
She said she was speaking publicly to set an example and inspire all victims of sexual abuse to conquer their fear and tell someone.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Davies becomes one of about a dozen women suing the late financier’s estate for alleged sexual abuses.
“I’m still a victim because I am fearful for my daughters and everyone’s daughters. I’m fearful for their future in this world, where there are predators in power, a world where people can avoid justice if their pockets run deep enough,” Davies said at the hearing.
Epstein killed himself in August while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A message was left seeking comment from a lawyer for his estate.
The Davies lawsuit was filed a day after another woman anonymously sued in Manhattan federal court against Epstein’s estate, alleging that she was manipulated and sexually assaulted by Epstein at the age of 16.
The woman said in the lawsuit that she came to the United States as a young child with her parents from a war-torn region of the world. The lawsuit said she was living in New York and enjoying success as a model with numerous spreads in major fashion magazines when she met Epstein in 2004.
The abuse over more than a year led her to quit modeling and feel humiliated, angry and suicidal, the lawsuit said.
Earlier this week, another woman who identifies herself as “Jane Doe 15”, claimed Epstein committed a “vicious, prolonged sexual assault” against her when she was 15, and urged Prince Andrew to come forward with any relevant information about the convicted sex offender.
The woman appealed to the Duke of York at a press conference on Monday, where she and Allred announced her lawsuit against Epstein’s estate.