section_path: Legal issues/Civil cases/Jennifer Araoz v. Epstein and Maxwell (2019)
section_name: Jennifer Araoz v. Epstein and Maxwell (2019)
paragraph_text: Jennifer Araoz v. Epstein and Maxwell (2019)
  
  On July 22, 2019, while in jail awaiting trial, Epstein was served with a petition regarding a pending state civil lawsuit filed by Jennifer Araoz. She stated that an associate for Epstein had recruited her outside Talent Unlimited High School at age 14 and she was gradually groomed for over a year before Epstein raped her in his New York City mansion when she was 15. Araoz filed her suit on August 14, 2019, when New York State law was updated to allow one year for adult survivors of child sexual abuse to sue for previous offenses, regardless of how long ago the abuse took place. In October 2019, Araoz amended her complaint to include over twenty corporate entities associated with Epstein and named the additional individuals Lesley Groff and Cimberly Espinosa as enablers.
  
  On July 22, 2019, while in jail awaiting trial, Epstein was served with a petition regarding a pending state civil lawsuit filed by Jennifer Araoz. She stated that an associate for Epstein had recruited her outside Talent Unlimited High School at age 14 and she was gradually groomed for over a year before Epstein raped her in his New York City mansion when she was 15. Araoz filed her suit on August 14, 2019, when New York State law was updated to allow one year for adult survivors of child sexual abuse to sue for previous offenses, regardless of how long ago the abuse took place. In October 2019, Araoz amended her complaint to include over twenty corporate entities associated with Epstein and named the additional individuals Lesley Groff and Cimberly Espinosa as enablers.