Leon Black faced sexual abuse claims, Epstein files show

Leon Black, the former chair of the Museum of Modern Art, is referenced in newly posted Jeffrey Epstein case files that describe sexual abuse allegations raised by at least three potential victims after Epstein’s death.

The files released Monday by the U.S. Justice Department include copies of a diary attributed to a girl who investigators said was a minor at the time of the alleged abuse. Much of the diary was written in handwritten coded text that investigators decrypted.

The alleged victim referenced Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion, previously owned by art collector Les Wexner, in one entry.

“My mother has lost her fucking mind. Even though Ghislane said it was best to take me home because Mr. Black is so important for some reason over my health. There is going to be hell to pay. I ruined their trip and I am dramatic when that fat fuck bit me!” the alleged victim wrote.

“He threw me on the floor and blood all over Jeffrey’s carpet and I am the issue? Who the fuck bites someone? Sick! No one is that important and Leon can go fuck himself. I hate New York!”

In a second diary entry, that same victim again referenced Black.

“Leon Black. Underlined words in the poem: birth, cry, fatso millionaire, goddamn baby screaming, there’s always a bloody baby, your seven chins, still as ham,” she wrote.

She also appears to reference “Allen Douschewitz,” referring to lawyer Alan Dershowitz, as well as former President Bill Clinton, in a third diary entry.

Jeanne Christensen, a lawyer for the alleged victim, wrote in an email included in the release that the diary also references a hotel room where she met convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and was forced to “undress from waist down” before Maxwell allegedly “did ‘yucky’ things.”

“After this meeting, she then was taken to a McLean VA mansion owned by Joe Roberts and GM and JE were there. JE gave her the once over and nod of approval— she was sent to PB shortly afterwards for the first time,” Christensen wrote.

An investigator wrote in a May 2023 email that the girl was 16 years old when she was allegedly raped by Black.

“Black used adult sex toys in victim's rectum and vagina. Victim felt severe pinching in her vagina and began bleeding from her rectum. Black and others at Epstein's house would not take her to the doctor and instead flew her out of New York the next day,” the investigator wrote.

“Victim did not go back to New York after that; next few years was in Palm Beach or U.S. Virgin Islands,” the investigator added, referring to Epstein’s private island Little St. James.

The minor victim alleged that she was trafficked from 2001 to 2004 and was forced to have sex with 25 different men. The investigator pointed to medical records that show “trauma from sexual abuse, rectal tearing and references to a violent rape.”

She also reported that she was videotaped at a hotel during an incident involving six men, where she was forced to be with three of them. Her attorney stated she believes a video of this incident is "circulating on some disgusting sex site.”

A second alleged victim was in her 30s at the time of the conduct, a redacted investigator wrote in an August 2021 email.

That woman alleged she met Black at Epstein's Upper East Side townhouse sometime in the early 2000s where she worked giving massages.

“She met Epstein at his office in his townhouse and he knew that she needed money and was a single mother and he talked to her about how he could help her out with her money problems,” the investigator wrote.

“She says that Epstein never forced himself on her, he tried to get her to take off her clothes and when she said no, he didn't force it and still paid her $300 cash. She also gave massages to other men at the townhouse, including Black.”

Epstein had allegedly introduced Black to that woman, stating that the former MoMA chairman was someone who could help her get a job. She alleged that Black “violently sexually assaulted” her and bit her.

“She was giving him a massage, he was on his stomach. At some point he turned around and said it was his turn to give her a massage. He got her on her back on the table, recalls having difficulty breathing. Was violently sexually assaulted, including by being bitten,” the investigator wrote. “Afterwards, he got dressed as if nothing happened.”

Black allegedly later called the woman and asked her to meet for drinks at the St. Regis Hotel, and gave her an envelope with cash.

Investigators were alerted to that alleged victim by Christensen, who had received a call from her on the morning of August 9, 2021.

“The details she told me about what he did to her are almost a perfect match about what my client told me. He violently bit down on her vulva, labia and clitoris,” Christensen recounted the alleged victim telling her.

“The biting would get harder and his teeth clamp down more when she yelled out in pain. The woman this morning basically told me about the same biting ritual and that she could not breath she was in so much pain — it is too abnormal to make up. She does not know my client — this person is older and says it happened in 2001 at Epstein's townhouse.”

Christensen said at the time that there was nothing publicly known about the details of Black’s alleged sex acts with her client, “so there is no way she could know.”

A third alleged victim also accused Black of biting “parts of her vagina” and said that the “violence was arousing for him.”

The documents released also include a text message from one of the alleged victims to Black, in which she requested a copy of a non-disclosure agreement she had signed.

“Leon. You sexually harassed me, sex trafficked me, raped me, and eventually blacklisted me. I don't know for how much longer it will take me, on my own, to process the pain your caused to me and my family,” that alleged victim wrote to Black. “The least thing you can do is to give me that document that I was forced to sign under duress and wasn't able to read before signing.”

A Dechert LLP report included in the files notes that Black admitted to visiting Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, on two occasions, accompanied by his wife and children. He also visited Epstein in Paris and Santa Fe.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York remained involved at points but limited their scope because of jurisdictional constraints and evidentiary hurdles. Across agencies, investigators repeatedly weighed the credibility of the allegations while noting gaps in corroborating evidence and potential statute-of-limitations barriers.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office examined one alleged sexual assault involving Black that was reported to have occurred in New York City in 2001. In June 2023, an investigator wrote that “charges seem unlikely but they are still investigating.”

In July 2023, Jeanne Christensen emailed federal authorities pointing out that Leon Black had paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle an Epstein-related probe, arguing it was "outrageous" that criminal charges had not been brought.

Investigators in March 2024 discussed photos allegedly taken by Maxwell of an alleged Black victim with Epstein on a boat.

The most recent investigative document in the released files appears to be from October 2024 in which a federal prosecutor discusses a ChatGPT search related to a Leon Black settlement and his legal dealings.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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