Epstein Assistant Names Names, Says She Was A Victim
Epstein Assistant Names Previously Unnamed Alleged Abusers, Reveals She Was Also A Victim
Sarah Kellen, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistants and a woman long accused of helping facilitate his abuse network, told members of Congress last week that she was not Epstein’s accomplice but rather one of his victims. During a closed-door interview with the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Kellen insisted she had been “sexually and psychologically abused” by the disgraced financier for more than a decade.
“I am here today to answer your questions, to dispel rumors and conspiracies, and to tell you the truth,” Kellen told lawmakers, according to a transcript obtained by The Guardian.
Kellen, now 46, reportedly provided investigators with the names of three men she alleged were connected to Epstein’s abuse: celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai, former Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine, and late fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer described the interview as the committee’s most “substantive and productive” conversation so far.
“These were new names for us,” Comer told reporters, adding that Kellen had been “very helpful” during the inquiry.
Kellen worked for Epstein beginning in 2001 and remained in his orbit for more than 10 years. She was previously identified as one of four alleged co-conspirators connected to Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. In 2007, she received immunity from prosecution as part of Epstein’s controversial plea agreement in Florida, which allowed him to avoid federal sex trafficking charges and serve only 13 months in county jail after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.
But Kellen told lawmakers she never even knew she had been included in the agreement until after it became public.
“The federal government of the United States branded me a criminal in a secret deal with my own abuser, without ever once speaking to me,” she said.
Reading from prepared remarks, Kellen described Epstein as a manipulative predator who controlled every aspect of her life.
“He groomed me, sexually and psychologically abused me, controlled me, manipulated me, dominated me, and gaslit me until I could no longer tell which thoughts were mine and which were his,” she testified. “It was like living with a permanent virtual reality headset on.”
Kellen also denied claims that she acted as a top lieutenant for Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
“I was a literal indentured slave,” Kellen said. “She even referred to me as her slave and minion. I had zero power or authority. I was there only to serve and to submit.”
According to Kellen, the abuse was constant and often violent. She alleged Epstein continued exploiting her even while jailed in Florida, claiming he once contacted her through Skype from inside the Palm Beach County Stockade and ordered her to undress on camera.
For years, Epstein survivors and prosecutors have accused Kellen of helping arrange massages, sexual encounters, and recruitment efforts for underage girls. During Maxwell’s criminal trial and in multiple lawsuits, several accusers portrayed Kellen as a key facilitator within Epstein’s inner circle. Kellen denied knowingly recruiting minors, claiming she was simply instructed to call names from directories given to her by Epstein and Maxwell.
She also addressed the question many have asked publicly: why she never left.
“I had nowhere else to go,” Kellen told lawmakers. “I had no money, no family, no education and no sense that I deserved any better.”
Kellen said Epstein carefully cultivated fear and dependency, warning her that crossing him would destroy her life.
“He made certain I knew that defying him would cost me my life,” she said. “He knew everyone in the highest echelons of society and everyone catered to him.”
See social media’s reaction to the revelation below.
