Lawsuit accuses billionaire Leon Black of raping girl at Epstein's home

A brand new lawsuit accuses billionaire Leon Black of raping a lady in a “brutal assault” on the Manhattan dwelling of the late Jeffrey Epstein 20 years in the past, a number of retailers reported on Monday.

Black, the co-founder of the non-public fairness agency Apollo, stepped down from his place as chairman and CEO of the agency after information broke of his monetary relationship with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 earlier than he may go to trial on intercourse trafficking costs.

Epstein’s property can also be named within the new swimsuit, filed by plaintiff Cheri Pierson, who says she met Epstein as a poor single mom and was set to earn $300 for massaging Black in spring of 2002, in keeping with Reuters.

The “brutal assault,” nevertheless, left Pierson “swollen, torn, and bleeding” such that “she may barely stroll out of the home onto the sidewalk, as she was in excruciating ache and nonetheless in shock,” in keeping with excerpts of the lawsuit shared by CNN.

Black’s authorized staff denied the allegations to information retailers Monday.

The lawsuit is the newest in quite a few intercourse assault and rape circumstances being introduced forth beneath New York’s new Grownup Survivors Act, which is, for a one-year window, waiving the standard deadlines for intercourse crime lawsuits, permitting survivors to file claims on previous circumstances. 

Ladies who accused Epstein of sexual abuse filed lawsuits final week towards Deutsche Financial institution AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co., arguing the monetary establishments facilitated and benefited from Epstein’s intercourse trafficking operations. 

“Because of the passage of the Grownup Survivor’s Act, survivors of sexual violence like our shopper Ms. Pierson can search the justice they deserve regardless of what number of years in the past their trauma was suffered,” Pierson lawyer Jeanne Christensen stated in a press release shared by Regulation & Crime.

In keeping with filings with the New York Supreme Courtroom, Black continues to be dealing with an energetic case from Russian mannequin Guzel Ganieva, who has additionally accused him of sexual abuse.