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Victims seeking sex offender's millions see painful pasts used against them 
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The Palm Beach Post 
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Victims seeking sex offender's millions see painful pasts used 
against them 
By JANE MUSGRAVE 
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer 
Updated: 11:40 p.m. Saturday. Jan. 23. 2010 
Posted: 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Jan. 23.2010 
One was in a Hobe Sound trailer when her father beat his girlfriend's 8-year-old son to death. Another watched her 
boyfriend kill himself. Still another was molested at 12 by her best friend's brother and was raped again three years later. 
Now their violent, traumatic and just plain sad lives are being used against them. 
Attorneys for multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein are dredging up the most intimate details of the lives of more than a dozen 
women who are seeking millions from the sex offender. The women claim he lured them to his Palm Beach mansion for 
sexually charged massages when some were as young as 14. 
In court papers, Epstein's attorneys scoff at the women's claims that they were traumatized after being paid $200 to give 
Epstein, now 57, massages that, for most, led to sex. If they were so traumatized, his attorneys ask, why did they return 
10, 20, 50 or as many as 100 times? If they were so traumatized, why did they take advantage of Epstein's offer to double 
their money by getting dozens and dozens of other girls to participate? 
Nothing is off limits, attorney Robert Critton has argued in court papers. To keep the women's hands off his client's money, 
he is seeking to prove that they had deep psychological problems before they claim they were introduced to Epstein . 
"Because Epstein purportedly has 'lots of money,' they claim his actions caused their horrific damages," Critton wrote, 
asking a judge to force the women to answer his questions. "Yet performing in the 'Champagne Room,' dancing at strip 
clubs and prostituting themselves ... has no relevance to their claimed damages in this case? Are (they) and their 
attorneys seriously making this argument?" 
When given a chance to question the women, his tactics have been bare-knuckle. 
"I want you to tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury whether or not aborting three fetuses is more traumatic than giving 
a man a massage in the nude," attorney Mark Luttier, Critton's partner, asked one of the women in a recent deposition. 
Reluctantly, the woman, who, like most of the others filed a civil suit using a pseudonym, admitted the abortions were 
worse. 
A controversial non-prosecution agreement Epstein signed to avoid federal charges was to protect the women from such 
intrusive questioning. 
"You have a number of girls who were very hesitant about even speaking to authorities about this because of the trauma 
that they have suffered and about the embarrassment," Assistant U.S. Attorney 
, who crafted the deal, 
told a federal judge. "So we did through the non-prosecution agreement tried to protect their rights while also protecting 
their privacy." 
'Hyper-sexualized' women 
After the feds promised to stop their investigation, Epstein agreed to plead guilty to two state charges: procuring a minor 
for prostitution and soliciting prostitution. He was released from the Palm Beach County Jail in July after serving 13 
months of an 18-month sentence. As part of the deal, he agreed not to contest the accusations in the civil lawsuits. But, he 
can argue that the women don't deserve the millions they are seeking. 
That gave Critton the opening to question the women about the beatings some suffered at the hands of their fathers, 
stepfathers and boyfriends, their drug use, arrests, academic failures and their sex lives. 
For some, the questions were too much. Four of the 17 women who filed lawsuits have settled for undisclosed amounts. 
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Victims seeking sex offender's millions see painful pasts used against them 
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Adam Horowitz, who represents six of the women, said it's not surprising that some would become strippers or prostitutes 
after their experiences with Epstein. "These women were hyper-sexualized at very young ages," he said. That they came 
from troubled, or even violent, homes only made them more vulnerable, he said. 
In a deposition, a woman identified as M. said she began working as a call girl and stripper after her experience with 
Epstein, whom she met at age 15. She said she left the "bunny ranch" business in June when she was 21. 
"I've been seeing psychiatrists and kind of realized that this life isn't for me," she said. 
If she was so traumatized by Epstein, Critton questions why she went to his house more than 100 times and solicited 
more than 50 other girls for him. Also, in a statement to police, she described Epstein as "an awesome man" who sent 
gifts to her baby shower. 
However, not all of the women have sordid pasts, according to court records. In her lawsuit, one "Jane Doe" said she was 
working a $9-an-hour job at Mar-a-Lago when she was recruited at ag 
four years, Epstein used her as his sex 
slave, taking her around the world on his private jet before she fled to 
where she now lives, says the lawsuit filed 
by Miami attorney Robert Josefsberg. 
Before she escaped, she, along with young girls from various foreign countries, were forced to service Epstein. She was 
also sexually exploited by his friends, including "royalty, politicians, scientists and businessmen," says the suit. It was 
settled last month. 
Epstein pleads the Fifth 
During depositions, Epstein has refused to answer questions about such allegations, claiming his Fifth Amendment right 
against self-incrimination. He has refused to talk about his holdings — a 51,000-square-foot mansion in Manhattan, a 
7,500-acre ranch in New Mexico and a 70-acre island in the Virgin Islands. He is mum about his background as a high 
school math teacher who worked for Bear Stearns before starting his own financial management company. He is equally 
taciturn about trips he took with former President Clinton, Britain's Prince Andrew and actors Kevin Spacey and Chris 
Tucker. 
Deposition exchanges have been nasty. 
"Would you agree with the description that you are a pervert?" asked attorney Spencer Kuvin. Epstein took the Fifth. 
"Do you believe you're a sexual deviant?" Kuvin asked. Epstein said no. 
In most cases, Critton has instructed Epstein not to answer. At the same time, attorneys representing the victims have 
instructed their clients not to speak about some matters. 
Although a magistrate who is overseeing the federal cases warned Critton not to be abusive, she said Epstein has a right 
to probe the women's backgrounds. Critton said such questioning is only fair. 
" (Their) damages will be substantially reduced due to several preexisting and diagnosed conditions for which they now 
attempt to pawn off on Epstein in an effort to increase their damages." 
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