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The Latest: Accuser plans to file suit against Epstein

ABC Entertainment:

The Latest on developments in the sex trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein (all times local):

1:10 p.m.

A woman who accuses Jeffrey Epstein of raping her when she was 15 has filed court papers in preparation for suing him.

Lawyers for 32-year-old Jennifer Araoz (uh-ROHS’) filed the papers Wednesday in New York, seeking information from Epstein.

Messages were left with Epstein’s attorneys seeking comment. Epstein pleaded not guilty Monday to federal sex trafficking charges that don’t include Araoz’s allegations, which weren’t reported to authorities and were shared for the first time Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show.

The court papers say that starting when Araoz was 14, she would give him massages that would often lead to sex acts.

She says after months of massages, he forcibly raped her in 2002.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Araoz has done.

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10:10 a.m.

One of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers says he raped her at his New York home when she was 15.

Jennifer Araoz (Uh-ROHS’) said Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show she hasn’t spoken to authorities about her allegations against the wealthy financier because she feared retribution.

Like other victims, Araoz says she was told to undress and give Epstein massages that often led to groping and sex acts. She says he “forcefully raped” her when she was 15 despite her pleas asking him to stop.

Messages were left with Epstein’s defense attorneys seeking comment about Araoz’s claims.

Epstein has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges. His lawyers said in court that the allegations in the indictment couldn’t amount to statutory rape because there was no penetration.

Source:ABC Entertainment

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