Jane Doe 1 will request video of hooker Michelle McGee visiting Jeffrey Epstein, including the use of a disguise
The jury hearing the case against the hedge fund billionaire Jeffrey Epstein will see a video recorded at the billionaire’s notorious Palm Beach mansion, which held a perversion sauna, his neighbour testified on Thursday.
Jane Doe 1, a woman who has accused Epstein of raping her multiple times, will request the video of Epstein’s high-profile former mistress, Michelle McGee, in her own defence, the woman’s lawyer, Larry Klayman, told jurors.
Linda Ridgway, who lives near Epstein’s $18m-a-year estate, said Epstein’s then-mistress Michelle McGee was seen entering the mansion with a tank top, mask, gloves and leg guards. The women’s names were redacted from the court record.
“The idea that we didn’t know is completely false,” Ridgway said.
Epstein, 52, is alleged to have hired the women to perform illegal sex acts for money, and to have supplied them with cocaine. He is also accused of having underage girls perform sex acts for money. He has denied all charges.
McGee has said she was introduced to Epstein at 21, and became his lover. She says she told her parents about the underage girl prostitution ring she ran in Florida, but the disclosures damaged her image as a model and she is currently working as a stripper and personal trainer.
In his opening statement to the jury, Epstein lawyer Roy Black repeatedly slammed the FBI and Florida officials for their failure to act upon a 2009 tip of allegations of underage sex with Epstein, and for not closing the case.
Black said the informant is a woman whose lawyer works with prosecutors in a New York courthouse, but agreed she was not selected because she had any “connection with the state of Florida”.
Jurors were shown the transcript of a late-night 2008 conversation between Guy Nader, a convicted felon whose testimony helped convict Martha Stewart, and an FBI agent.
Nader and his lawyer, who is also serving a sentence of time served, were discussing Steele’s tip about the girl-prostitution ring. Nader said he was kept in the dark about it, and Steele said she was going to make it public.
“And when, Mr Nader?” the agent asked.
“When I heard there was a Florida complaint, I sent the complaint to Jupiter police department right away,” Steele said.
“When did you do that?” the agent asked.
“Yesterday morning when I woke up,” Steele replied.