A woman who has accused Donald Trump of raping her when she was 13 years old has decided not to appear at a scheduled news conference to discuss the charges.
“Jane Doe has received numerous threats today as have all the Trump accusers that I’ve represented,” attorney Lisa Bloom said before a throng of reporters. “She is living in fear, she has decided that she is too afraid to show her face. She has been here all day, ready to do it, but unfortunately she is in terrible fear. So we’re going to have to reschedule.”
A lawsuit filed in April in California claims Trump and financier Jeffrey Epstein made the plaintiff, listed in court documents as “Katie Johnson,” a sex slave in 1994 when she was 13 years old. The filing alleges that she “was enticed by promises of money and a modeling career to attend a series of underage sex parties” held at Epstein’s New York City residence.
The suit details a litany of sexual acts Johnson was allegedly made to perform, including engagement with another minor, aged 12. On the last of four separate encounters she claims to have had with Trump, she says the presidential candidate raped her.
Trump has denied the charges, telling RadarOnline in April, “The allegations are not only categorically false, but disgusting at the highest level and clearly framed to solicit media attention or, perhaps, are simply politically motivated.”
Epstein completed 13 months of an 18-month sentence in 2011 over an unrelated conviction for which he is now required to register as a Level 3 sex offender for life.
The lawsuit was dismissed in September on technical grounds, but was re-filed in New York last month. According to LawNews, the statute of limitations on many of the claims including sexual misconduct, assault and battery has expired, and the plaintiff has not indicated having ever gone to the police or collected evidence. She does claim to have two witnesses.
A status conference hearing on the lawsuit has been ordered by Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams for Dec. 16, at which time both sides have been asked to provide information that the parties believe may assist the court in advancing the case to settlement or trial.
Statement on Trump accuser becoming too afraid to show her face. "She is living in fear," lawyer Lisa Bloom said. pic.twitter.com/demwISRtAX
— Nancy Dillon (@Nancy__Dillon) November 2, 2016
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.