Sarah Kellen appeared as part of the Oversight panel's ongoing Epstein inquiry.
Sarah Kellen, a longtime personal assistant to convicted sex offenderJeffrey Epstein, told the House Oversight Committee on Thursday that she was "sexually and psychologically abused" by the late financier for over a decade, according to a copy of her prepared opening statement obtained by ABC News.
"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," the statement said.
The closed-door session was part of the panel's ongoing inquiry into the federal government's handling of investigations into the late sex offender.
Kellen, 47, was previously a subject of criminal investigations but has never been charged -- due, in part, to her own allegations of persistent sexual abuse at the hands of the disgraced financier, according to court documents and recordsreleased earlier this yearby the Justice Department.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaking to reporters during a break, said, "I believe she was a victim now."
"I would yield to other members of the committee, especially the female members, and let them give you, their opinion," Comer said. "But she was very helpful today, and very believable, very intelligent. You know -- terrible story to get there, and she was 21 when she was first began being abused by Epstein."
Calling Kellen's appearance "the most substantive, productive interview that we've had," Comer said that Kellen had given the committee "three names of people that were involved in abuse."
"These were new names for us, so we'll be releasing the transcript as quickly as possible," said Comer, who would not reveal the names of the three people nor divulge any details on the alleged abuse, regarding who, when and in what context.
"The new names -- that's what we've been waiting for," Comer said. "So today was very helpful, and I hope that we can continue that because we want to see people held accountable. We want to see men -- we don't care who they are -- held accountable for terrible, unlawful criminal behavior."
Kellen, in her planned statement, said she was recruited for the job as Epstein's assistant by a co-worker at a hotel in Hawaii, where she had gone to live after getting married at 17 years old. She claimed that after a divorce and ex-communication from her church, she was completely alone and "a perfect target" for Epstein.
"I was 21 years old, far from where I grew up, stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere, with no college degree, no family, no friends, no money, and nowhere to live," she said.
Her job with Epstein, she said, began as a period of training where she traveled with him on his private jet to his homes in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida and New York, where she says she was "surrounded by unimaginable luxury."
"After months of unpaid labor, he instructed me to draw him a bath on his island, then ordered me to undress and get in with him, and he said, 'The job is yours. Now you just have to keep it,'" she said in the statement. "He then pulled me onto his bed and made clear what 'keeping the job' required. Only after I submitted to his sexual abuse did the paychecks begin."
Kellen told the committee that Epstein's abuse happened on a "weekly basis" and was at times violent, including an incident in Palm Beach where she says he violently choked and raped her.
