Southampton Billionaire Leon Black Accused of Raping Special Needs Minor

A woman who has autism spectrum disorder filed a lawsuit on July 25 alleging that investor Leon Black, who owns a home on Billionaire Row in Southampton, violently raped her when she was a minor at Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.

The woman, who was not named due to the nature of the allegations, was born with mosaic Down syndrome, according to her attorneys with the law firm of Wigdor LLP, who filed the suit in Manhattan federal court.

“It is an honor to represent Jane Doe and we look forward to proceeding to discovery and trial on Jane Doe’s claims,” Jeanne M. Christensen, a partner at the firm who represents the plaintiff, said in a statement. Christensen noted that the suit was filed now that New York State opened a window for sex crimes survivors to pursue their claims under the Adult Survivors Act.

Black, the former-CEO of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management who is reportedly worth $9 billion, was previously sued by Cheri Pierson for sexual assault under the same law. That case is still pending.

In the latest case, Epstein, the convicted pedophile who authorities said died by suicide while pending trial on sex trafficking charges, regularly commented on what he described as the woman’s childlike innocence, as well as her fair skin and bright blue eyes, according to court documents in the case. Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell described Jane Doe as a “living doll,” the attorneys added.

The development comes after Black reportedly entered into a settlement agreement with the Attorney General’s Office of the U.S. Virgin Islands and paid $62.5 million to avoid potential claims associated with Epstein’s horrific sexual misconduct.

His attorney was not immediately available for comment but previously denied the prior rape claims.