Epstein Assistant Tells Lawmakers She Was Unaware of Abuse Allegations
Groff said she believed the massage appointments she arranged for young women and girls were legitimate professional services provided by licensed massage therapists.
In her prepared remarks, she stated: “I want to say without any doubt that I have come to believe the man who employed me from February of 2001 through July of 2019 was a monster. For 18 years, I worked for Dr. Jekyll but was never permitted to see the true Mr. Hyde.”
She further added: “Mr. Epstein was, in hindsight, a master manipulator and deceiver who separated his legitimate life from his secret life as an abuser, and made sure, that as his secretary, those two worlds did not collide,” according to her statement.
Groff told lawmakers that the scheduling of massage appointments typically involved brief phone calls and that she was never informed the women involved were minors or victims of abuse. She also said she would not have continued in her role had she been aware of any wrongdoing.
She testified that Epstein never abused her personally and claimed both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell discouraged her from interacting with their wider network. She added that since Epstein’s arrest, she has faced harassment, threats, and social isolation affecting her family.
Addressing survivors, Groff expressed remorse, saying her “heart breaks for these women” and that she believes their accounts. “Words cannot express how badly I feel that I was employed by Mr. Epstein during the time he abused these women. I will live with this horrible feeling for the rest of my life.”
However, some survivors and lawmakers questioned her testimony. Survivor Sharlene Rochard said Groff’s account contradicted her own experience, while Representative Stephen Lynch raised concerns about how someone in her position could have remained unaware over nearly two decades of employment.
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