Epstein-linked billionaire accused of rape privately reached out to federal judge to defend his ‘good name’

Leon Black has denied he ever met or raped ‘Jane Doe’. In an exclusive statement, Doe tells the Guardian ‘I am still here. And I am not done’Lawyers for Leon Black, the billionaire investor who has been accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a teenage girl inside Jeffrey Epstein’s New York townhouse in 2002, reached out to a powerful federal judge in 2024 to raise doubts about the alleged victim’s claims, a Guardian investigation found.The move set off a months-long court proceeding, which was con...