Ghislaine Maxwell warned Epstein’s house manager not to ‘look at his eyes’, court hears

Juan Alessi was told he should speak to his boss only when spoken to and should look away when addressing him

• This article contains depictions of sexual abuse

The former house manager of Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach home said Thursday that Ghislaine Maxwell warned him that he should never look" his boss in the eyes, describing a work environment where he faced the grim task of cleaning up their sex toys amid stifling micromanagement.

Juan Alessi, who worked at Epstein's Florida residence fromabout 1990 to 2002, made the disclosures during his testimony at Maxwell's child sex-trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court. Alessis's words painted a portrait of extreme privilege, as well as strict control, and appeared to corroborate some accusers' allegations against Epstein and Maxwell.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html