Jan 24, 2008 3:08 pm US/Eastern
Child Sex Lawsuit Filed Against NY Billionaire
New York billionaire accused in 2nd lawsuit of sex with minor
WEST PALM BEACH (CBS4) ―
A teenage girl has filed a lawsuit against a well-known New York billionaire and part-time Palm Beach resident, claiming he sexually abused her when she was 14 in his Palm Beach mansion.
Jeffrey Epstein's attorney says the allegations are false and all about money.
The girl is now 17. The suit was filed in West Palm Beach and seeks more than $50 million dollars.
She claims she was brought to his mansion to give him a massage. The lawsuit alleges that during the massage, in which he was naked, he demanded she take off her clothes. She complied, except for her underwear, the lawsuit alleges. He then sexually assaulted her, according to the lawsuit.
Her attorney is Jeffrey Herman, a Miami lawyer who specializes in child sex abuse litigation and has handled several pedophile priest lawsuits. He filed the suit on behalf of the girl and her parents on grounds of sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of parental consortium.
Palm Beach police allege the girl, identified only a Jane Doe, was the youngest of several alleged victims of Epstein. Police spent 11 months investigating him.
That investigation led to indictment in July 2006 by a Palm Beach County grand jury. The police investigation concluded that Epstein paid underage girls and young women to come to his home for massages and sometimes sex.
The grand jury indicted him on one felony count of solicitation of prostitution. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted. A hearing in that case is set for March.
The Jane Doe lawsuit claims the victim "fell into Epstein's trap and became one of his victims."
Epstein, 55, a money manager, was also sued last year in New York. A woman claims he had sex with her at his Upper East Side mansion in 2000 when she was 16.
His attorney says the New York woman's attorney and his client, who is actually a man living as a female, filed a similar lawsuit in a separate case.
The lawyer, William Unroch, says that case was settled. He declined to comment on allegations that his client is a man.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
I-Team: Tracking The Florida Stimulus Money Trail 
Stumble It!
