Ghislaine Maxwell called Jeffrey Epstein's underage girls her 'children' and 'kissed them on the head' as they went to bed on 'pedo island', says victim Johanna Sjoberg
Ghislaine Maxwell called Jeffrey Epstein's underage masseuse girls her “children” and “kissed them on the head” when they went to bed on his island, victim Johanna Sjoberg claimed.
In an unsealed deposition from May 2016, Florida-born Sjoberg recalled her time in the U.S. Virgin Islands in her early 20s, where she massaged Epstein and Maxwell and interacted with other girls performing similar acts.
The names of more than 150 people named in a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, Epstein's most prominent accuser, were kept under wraps for years until a federal judge ruled last month that there was no legal justification for keeping them private.
They were released late Wednesday. In a statement, Giuffre said she had had sex with several politicians and financial leaders.
Epstein mingled with Wall Street titans, royalty and celebrities before pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. He took his own life in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Johanna Sjorberg is pictured in West Palm Beach. She now runs a hair salon in Florida. Sjoberg's testimony – which was sealed under a protective order until last week – was given on May 18, 2016 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as part of Giuffre's case against Ghislaine Maxwell
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. She is currently in prison. He committed suicide in 2021 while awaiting trial
Dozens of women have accused Epstein of forcing them to provide sexual services to him and his guests on his private Caribbean island and homes he owned in New York, Florida and New Mexico.
Sjoberg's testimony — which was sealed under a protective order until last week — was given on May 18, 2016, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as part of Giuffre's case against Ghislaine Maxwell.
In the court document, Sjoberg described how she was on Epstein's island and often massaged Ghislaine and Jeffrey — sometimes with Virginia, while wearing bikinis and swimsuits on the beach.
She said she visited the Virgin Islands twice — and on her second trip, she recalled Ghislane Maxwell kissing the girls “on the head” and “calling us her children” before they went to bed.
She said she had massaged Maxwell five to 10 times over the course of five years.
Sjoberg also described Virginia as “orphan-like,” telling the interviewer, “I got the impression at the time that she had no family or that she had run away from her family.
“And it seemed to me, you know, that they had kind of adopted her, not as a child, but they were going to take care of her.”
Sjoberg testified in May 2016 that she was a 20-year-old student at Palm Beach Atlantic University when Maxwell, a stranger, approached her and offered her a job as a personal assistant.
Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell are pictured at Maxwell's London mansion in 2001
Sjoberg was recruited by Maxwell at the age of 20 on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University, where she attended school
Sjoberg began working for Epstein in 2001 and was immediately forced to perform sex acts.
She said she knew that another young woman close to Epstein, Virginia Roberts, was a minor.
Roberts had been recruited by Maxwell the year before, in 2000, while she was working as a locker room attendant at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
Roberts and Sjoberg would encounter a long list of famous faces, including Prince Andrew. He has always denied any allegations of sexual activity with Epstein's accusers, and denied any wrongdoing.
Sjoberg's testimony was revealed Wednesday night — part of a nearly 950-page trove detailing Epstein's relationships, friendships and actions.
The documents come from a 2015 defamation lawsuit filed by Roberts — now married as Virginia Giuffre — against Maxwell.
One of the documents – a request from Roberts' legal team for the judge to make more statements – states: 'Johanna confirms that she knew Virginia was a minor when she met her during the trip to New York with Jeffrey in 2001 because Virginia didn't go to the casino and later Johanna asked her and Virginia said she was 17.
“Johanna testified that Virginia looked young.
Jeffrey Epstein is pictured on the New York State sex offender registry in March 2017
Virginia Roberts has been fighting for justice for almost a decade
Johanna continues: 'I had the impression at the time that she had no family or that she had run away from her family. And it seemed to me, you know, that they had kind of adopted her, not as a child, but they were going to take care of her.”
Sjoberg also claimed that while Roberts was 17 and she was 20, they were all together at Epstein's Manhattan mansion with Prince Andrew.
Roberts would later say that she and Prince Andrew had sex that evening at Epstein's home. Sjoberg said the prince groped her breast.
“Johanna confirmed that she witnessed Virginia when she was seventeen (17) at Jeffrey Epstein's mansion in New York with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell,” the documents said.
“Johanna also testified that Prince Andrew sat with Virginia and Johanna and took a photo with a doll in his image that had his hand and Prince Andrew's hand on their respective breasts.”
Sjoberg would repeat the story in a 2007 interview with a newspaper.
She said in 2007 that after some “sightseeing” she returned to the apartment and “Prince Andrew was there and a few other girls my age.” Andreas was very charming. . . She (Ghislaine) came with a present for him: a latex doll of his from Spitting Image.'
She added: “We had a photo taken.
“Virginia, another girl there, was sitting on a chair with the doll on her lap. Andrew sat down in another chair.
'I sat on his lap – and he put his hand on my chest. Ghislaine placed the doll's hand on Virginia's chest. Then Andrew put his hand on mine. It was a great joke. Everyone laughed. Ghislaine had a very dirty sense of humor.' These claims have never been tested in court.
The Duke paid a $12 million settlement to Roberts in 2022 over her claims that he sexually assaulted her when she was 17, which he has always denied.
During his infamous 2019 interview, he said he didn't remember ever meeting Roberts.