Model Says She Hit Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein With Vibrator To Keep Him From Raping Her
Trigger warning: Sexual abuse.
Getty When Jeffrey Epstein was arrested for sexual assault on dozens of minors, it took the world and the news media by storm. People were outraged to learn that such a wealthy, connected man could have gotten away with such egregious behavior for so long. But once the news was out, the reports from other victims starting pouring in, and not only women from this country, either.
Italian model Elisabetta Tai was new to the country and to the modeling world when she was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein. Though they only spent a handful of minutes together, it was a time Elisabetta will never forget, though the reason for all of the memories was far from being positive. Read on to find out about their encounter and what she thinks about it today. Who is Elisabetta Tai?
1. Elisabetta Tai
The year was 2004, and 21-year-old model Elisabetta Tai was new to New York City. Eager to make friends and connections in the hopes of giving her stateside career the kickstart that it so desperately needed, Tai was interested and hopeful when she was given the number of a man who could change her life. His name was Jeffrey Epstein and she was told that he actually ran the legendary brand Victoria's Secret. (He didn't but his close friend Les Wexner did.) According to her agent, Epstein was going to help her land a job modeling for the famous catalogue and that getting to know him meant getting to know one of the most important men in modeling. In an interview, Tai still recalls the instructions well and what her agent said to her: “He said that this man is in charge of Victoria’s Secret and he’s going to change your life.”
2. Epstein's Place
Last week convicted pedophile Epstein, who is 66-years-old, was arrested on charges that he sexually abused numerous underage girls at two of his homes, his Upper Eastside mansion in New York, and the enormous estate he owns in Palm Beach, Florida between the years 2002 and 2005. This timeline would seem to fit the story that Tai has only recently shared about her frightening encounter with the man. When she finally arrived at his home on 71st Street she was immediately overwhelmed by the size of the place, a seven story townhouse, and once she was inside the home itself, she was only more impressed: a butler, she says, welcomed her at the door and there were several models who seemed at ease just walking around Epstein's home.
3. The Massage Table
If anything, Tai was likely reassured when Epstein himself finally did appear. She described him as being very ordinarily dressed, in simple blue jeans and a plain shirt. He invited her into his home home, and that's when things began to turn into a nightmare for Tai. According to her, he had a massage table set up in close proximity to his desk, and he approached it when they were both in the room and started taking off all of his clothing. Even still, she rationalized it: “I thought he was preparing to have a massage, and that someone was about to come in to the room and give him a massage," she explained. Epstein then, she says, told her to come closer and he handed her a vibrator. “I froze,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do. I just grabbed the vibrator and threw it at his head. I mean, I don’t know where it landed, I just blacked out and then I ran as fast as I could out of the room.”
4. Ghislane Maxwell
Tai thought the ordeal was over when she made her way out of the room, but it wasn't. According to Tai, a woman appeared, Epstein's friend Ghislane Maxwell, who stopped Tai in her tracks telling her that leaving now was impossible. “She said that this man is important, that he is a friend of President Clinton," Tai shared. Thankfully, she managed to make her way out of Epstein's home, but she never told anyone, not even the agent who sent her over there in the first place, what happened when she walked inside. “I was too scared to tell anyone. I was too shy and scared that someone would come after me to blackmail me or maybe worse," said Tai.
5. Pattern of Behavior
Tai's story might sound farfetched, but according to other accusations made of this nature, encounters like the one that Tai is now sharing seemed to be the norm for Epstein, who was an investor in several modeling ventures. According to prosecutors, Epstein would use the various connections he had within the modeling world to audition young models. Of course, these weren't true auditions, they were massage sessions that often turned into sexual abuse or rape. “Over the years, it seems Epstein relied on …[the] modelling business to source underage girls for sex,” says investigative journalist, Conchita Sarnoff.
6. Life Now
Of course as Tai learned herself, Epstein didn't operate in a vaccuum. He is alleged to have had help, often in the form of the previously mentioned Ghislane Maxwell. One source said, “They were always these really trashy shows full of rich men in the audience. Ghislaine acted as the kind of Nazi guard, telling everyone where they were sitting in the audience and that she had new ‘pop tarts’ which is what she called the young models.” Tai found her experience so dreadful that she decided to return to Italy rather than deal with any fallout in America. When she heard about the charges being brought against Epstein, she thought it was time to speak up. “I think it’s terrible,” she said. “I think it’s awful what he did to me, and what he did to those girls. It’s just not right, especially in a young girl. It changed me for life. I thought I lived in a hateful world. It was shocking to realise that if I wanted to be a model in America, I was expected to work as a prostitute.”
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime.