Key Facts
Career & Education
About
Johanna Sjoberg is an American woman who became a key witness in the legal proceedings surrounding Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network. In 2001, while studying at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, she was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell to work as a masseuse for Epstein, a role that involved traveling to his properties in New York, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sjoberg has testified that she was paid for massages and other tasks but denied being sexually abused herself, though she described an environment where young women were encouraged to provide sexual services to Epstein and his associates. Her employment with Epstein lasted until approximately 2006, during which she interacted with high-profile individuals in Epstein's orbit.
Sjoberg provided a significant deposition on January 14, 2016, in the defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell (Giuffre v. Maxwell, Case No. 15-cv-07433-LAP). In her testimony, she detailed encounters including a 2001 incident at Epstein's New York mansion where Britain's Prince Andrew allegedly placed his hand on her breast during a group photo involving a puppet. She also recounted meeting celebrities such as Michael Jackson and magician David Copperfield at Epstein's Palm Beach home, and alleged that Epstein once remarked that Clinton 'likes them young' in reference to girls. These accounts, unsealed in court documents in January 2024, have fueled public scrutiny of Epstein's connections to powerful figures.
Beyond her testimony, little public information exists about Sjoberg's personal or professional life post-Epstein. She has described herself as a friend of Virginia Giuffre, another Epstein survivor, and her statements have been cited in broader investigations and media coverage of the scandal. Sjoberg's role underscores the recruitment and exploitation patterns in Epstein's operations, though she has not pursued public advocacy or further legal action herself.