One of the four women named as “potential co-conspirators” in Jeffrey Epstein’s sweetheart deal with federal prosecutors is breaking her silence to tell the world that she is also a survivor of his abuse — and that she believes law enforcement ultimately came to see her as a victim.
Sarah Kellen, who was employed by Epstein as a personal assistant for more than a decade starting in 2001, has come forward on the eve of her appearance Thursday before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door, transcribed interview.
Ininterviews with federal and state law enforcement, as well as in other public documents, including civil lawsuits, survivors of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell have alleged Kellen handled some of the logistics that enabled Epstein and his abuse, including calling his minor victims to make arrangements for massages, escorting them to Epstein’s bedroom and encouraging them to bring friends.
And at least some Epstein survivors remain angry about Kellen’s role. Earlier this year, Epstein survivor Teresa Helmtold a British media outletthat Kellen groomed her for abuse and that she is still unconvinced that Kellen “didn’t know what she was doing.” Kellen’s lawyers say Kellen never met Teresa Helm.
Kellen and her lawyers have insisted, however, that to the extent that she was involved in Epstein’s web, it was part and parcel of how Epstein sexually and psychologically abused her for more than a decade. They said Kellen is no differently situated than other survivors of Epstein’s decades-long predation of women and girls.
“I have no doubt there are countless women currently trapped in similar situations that could be helped by hearing my story,” Kellen told MS NOW.
Kellen’s lawyers said that while New York federal prosecutors investigated Kellen and initially sought to have her plead guilty to witness tampering, they came to understand that Kellen was victimized by Epstein and decided against prosecuting her.
Aside frombrief comments to The Sunin 2020, Kellen has avoided the press. But she and her lawyers said they now want the public to understand how Epstein transformed her life not only through years of abuse but also by including her as his “potential co-conspirator” in his 2007 nonprosecution agreement.
That agreement was a critical piece of Epstein’s so-called sweetheart deal, which resulted in Epstein pleading guilty to two state prostitution-related crimes; serving fewer than 13 months in jail, including “work release” time; and registering as a sex offender in New York.
Kellen’s lawyers told MS NOW that Kellen was not consulted prior to her inclusion in the agreement, nor did she learn about it until after it was executed.
They said the nonprosecution agreement nearly destroyed Kellen’s life by portraying her as complicit in his sexual abuse and trafficking. As a result, they said, Kellen has endured nearly 20 years of harassment and threats to this day.
Included in the 3 million-plus pages the Justice Department has published in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act is correspondence between and among Florida federal prosecutors and Epstein’s lawyers about resolving the federal investigation.
The correspondence reflects that, as of mid-September 2007, as federal prosecutors went back and forth with Epstein’s counsel about potential plea agreements, they had neither subpoenaed, much less interviewed, Kellen.
Prosecutors even considered charges against Epstein based on his conduct toward Kellen.
According to people familiar with the investigation, mid-Septemberdraft plea documents published by the DOJin redacted form reflect a proposed charge against Epstein for assaulting Kellen on an airplane around 2005.
