Parents of Ghislaine Maxwell ‘lieutenant’ Sarah Kellen fear she’s next to be charged with child sex trafficking
THE parents of a woman alleged to be one of Ghislaine Maxwell’s “lieutenants” fear she could be next to be charged with child sex trafficking.
Sarah Kellen, 41, dubbed Ghislaine Maxwell's “lieutenant” by Jeffrey Epstein's victims, is accused of sending young girls to him wherever he was in exchange for huge salaries and perks.
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But her parents Thomas and Mary Kellen, who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, have claimed she too was groomed and manipulated after she went to work for Epstein in her teens and now could be the next to be charged.
Mary, 74, told the : “After Maxwell I think Sarah’s next.
‘What happened to all those girls is horrendous but I do feel that Sarah was also a victim.
“I’m not a psychologist or a psychiatrist but I can see she was maneuvered or brainwashed.
“I just hope someone doesn’t go and kill her.
“There are a lot of prominent, powerful people out there that don’t want anything said.”
Since Epstein hanged himself in a Manhattan prison on August 10, 2019, authorities have keen to track down his alleged accomplices, including a group of female aides who are said to have managed his ‘appointments’ with underage girls.
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a former lover of Epstein, is currently behind bars awaiting her trial on sex trafficking charges which is set for next July.
She was denied bail after a judge ruled she was deemed to be a flight risk.
As well as Kellen, Adriana Ross, Lesley Groff, and Nadia Marcinkova are thought to be under investigation for any role they may have played in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.
None have been arrested so far.
Kellen’s parents said they knew almost nothing about what their daughter’s duties involved because they became estranged from her at around the time she took the job with Epstein when she was aged 18 or 19.
The split with her family came after Kellen was thrown out of the church for allegedly leading an “immoral” lifestyle, which included nude modelling for fashion catalogues and art classes.
Despite the split Kellen’s parents are still sticking up for her.
Dad Thomas, 75, a retired electrical engineer told the paper: “We are sticking up for her, if that’s what you want to call it, because we still feel we know her better than anyone.
"I think she was manipulated by Epstein due to her age and the circumstances. In my opinion, she’s a victim just as much as some of the others.
“She was told what to do and what to say. I feel she is still probably afraid to say anything - even now that he’s gone.”
Kellen grew up in Hendersonville, North Carolina and attended the local high school before being homeschooled in her final year.
She then married Noa Bonk, another member of the church, when she was 17 – although Bonk said she was 18 - with the blessing of her parents and moved to Hawaii.
The marriage only lasted three years amid rumours Kellen was more interested in leading a glamorous lifestyle.
Kellen was said to have been drawn into Epstein’s circle after she became friends with one of his female employees.
The woman is said to have been commuting between Hawaii and the mainland US which her boyfriend didn’t like so she volunteered Kellen for her job and set up an interview.
Due to their estrangement Kellen’s parents learnt very little about what her job entailed, saying “we didn’t have a clue what she was getting into”.
What is thought to have gone on became clearer in 2008 when Epstein struck a sweetheart deal that allowed him to spend just 13 months in jail, much of it out on barely-supervised work release, in exchange for pleading guilty to Florida state charges of unlawfully paying a teenage girl for sex.
The non-prosecution agreement extended similar immunity to four ‘potential co-conspirators’ including Kellen and fellow executive assistants Adriana Ross, Lesley Groff and Nadia Marcinkova.
It meant Kellen could not face charges in Florida despite numerous girls describing how she would book them for massages and greet them they as arrived at Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion before escorting them upstairs and laying out massage oils.
Police reports say, one victim recalled Kellen and Maxwell instructing her on how to please their perverted boss.
Others claimed the pair had warned them not to speak out about what was going on.
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In a slew of civil lawsuits, Kellen was referred to “an assistant to Ghislaine”, her second in command and even her “lieutenant”.
Spencer T. Kuvin, a lawyer representing several accusers, told the New York Times: “Sarah was really running that organization, bringing girls and getting them in and out of the Palm Beach home.”
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She was also well paid as Epstein divulged in a 2005 interview that he paid his closest assistants $200,000 a year.
