She answered the phone with polished efficiency, scheduling “appointments” that victims later described as orchestrated sexual encounters with underage girls—while Jeffrey Epstein’s dark world spun on without interruption. Lesley Groff, his long-time executive assistant and chief secretary for nearly two decades, allegedly arranged the calendars, facilitated the logistics, and kept the operation running smoothly from his New York office.
Accusers named her in civil lawsuits as a key enabler who helped maintain and protect Epstein’s sex trafficking ring—yet she was listed among the “potential co-conspirators” in the controversial 2007 non-prosecution agreement and, like the others, never faced criminal charges. Prosecutors declined to pursue her, and some claims were quietly dropped.
How does someone so deeply embedded for so long escape accountability entirely? What did she see—and who else benefited from her silence?
Lesley Groff served as Jeffrey Epstein’s executive assistant and chief secretary for nearly two decades, operating from his opulent New York City office as the quiet, highly organized force that kept his complex schedule and logistics in perfect order. With polished professionalism, she answered calls, booked travel, arranged accommodations, and scheduled what victims later described as “appointments”—encounters that were in reality orchestrated sexual abuse involving underage girls. Groff allegedly coordinated the movement of young women to Epstein’s residences in Manhattan, Palm Beach, and his private island, ensuring everything ran without disruption.
Multiple victims and civil lawsuits have identified Groff as a central figure in enabling Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking operation. Court documents and depositions allege she managed the calendar that dictated when and where girls were brought to Epstein, handled payments to some victims, and facilitated the discreet logistics that allowed the abuse to continue for years. In Virginia Giuffre’s high-profile civil case against Epstein and others, Groff was named as a key participant who helped sustain the network. Witnesses described her as someone who knew exactly what the “massages” entailed yet continued to book them, acting as an indispensable gatekeeper in Epstein’s world.
The 2007 non-prosecution agreement (NPA) in Florida—widely condemned as a sweetheart deal—granted Epstein immunity from federal charges and extended broad protection to “potential co-conspirators,” a category that explicitly included Lesley Groff. Despite FBI interviews with victims who implicated her and substantial evidence gathered during the investigation, federal prosecutors chose not to pursue charges against her or several other named associates. The agreement, negotiated under then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, shielded Groff from any federal prosecution related to the activities outlined in the probe. Some civil claims against her were later dropped or settled quietly, further insulating her from legal consequences.
After Epstein’s 2019 arrest and death in custody, and Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 conviction for sex trafficking, public attention turned again to figures like Groff. Unlike Maxwell, however, Groff faced no criminal indictment. She has largely avoided public statements, and during depositions in civil cases, she provided limited cooperation while maintaining a low profile. By the mid-2010s, she had stepped away from public life, reportedly living privately and working in administrative or consulting roles far removed from the spotlight.
Lesley Groff’s near-total escape from accountability stands as one of the most striking examples of the failures embedded in Epstein’s case. For almost twenty years she operated at the heart of his operation, managing the very systems that enabled the abuse, yet she walked away untouched by criminal law. The broad immunity of the 2007 NPA, combined with Epstein’s powerful connections and the reluctance of authorities to reopen cases against protected individuals, allowed her to fade into obscurity. Recent document releases in 2024 and 2025 have referenced her name in flight logs, emails, and employment records, but no new investigations have targeted her.
Survivors continue to carry the lasting trauma of their exploitation, while figures like Groff remain free, unprosecuted, and largely silent. Her case underscores the persistent gaps in justice for Epstein’s enablers—those who facilitated, scheduled, and normalized the horror while remaining shielded by legal agreements and institutional inertia. Until greater transparency and renewed accountability efforts are pursued, the role of long-time insiders like Lesley Groff will remain a symbol of incomplete reckoning.
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