Chauntae Davies

Recruitment and Entry into Epstein’s World

Chauntae Davies was working as an actress and aspiring massage therapist in Los Angeles when she was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell in the early 2000s. Maxwell, who frequently moved through entertainment and social circles, presented the opportunity as legitimate spa work for a wealthy employer. Davies was in her late teens or early twenties at the time — within the range of women Maxwell systematically recruited as a feeder into Epstein’s network.

Davies has described her recruitment as the beginning of a long period of abuse. She was brought to Epstein’s various properties to provide massage services, and she has detailed how those sessions escalated into sexual assault. Her account is consistent with the pattern described by dozens of other victims: an initial recruitment through a female intermediary, normalized access over repeated visits, and abuse that occurred in private at Epstein’s residences.

The Clinton Africa Trip

Davies became more prominent in media coverage after photographs from a 2002 humanitarian trip to Africa surfaced publicly. The trip, organized to address AIDS-related issues on the continent, involved former President Bill Clinton traveling aboard Epstein’s Boeing 727. Davies was aboard that flight and appears alongside Clinton in photographs that were published widely in the course of reporting on Epstein’s connections to prominent figures.

Davies clarified publicly that she had traveled on the trip in her capacity as a massage therapist employed by Epstein, not in any romantic or sexual capacity involving Clinton. She and Clinton advocates provided similar statements indicating that their interactions were purely social during the trip. Nonetheless, her presence on the aircraft highlighted the way Epstein’s staff and victimized employees were embedded in his world even during ostensibly philanthropic or public-interest activities.

The Clinton photographs became one of the most debated items in Epstein coverage — cited both as evidence of the ordinariness with which Epstein moved in elite circles and as a reminder that individuals who were experiencing or had experienced abuse were present even in those settings.

Speaking Out

Davies eventually went public with her account of victimization, giving detailed media interviews that provided granular descriptions of how Maxwell recruited for Epstein and how the abuse was structured. Her account helped establish the methodical nature of Maxwell’s role — not as a passive bystander but as an active recruiter who personally approached and cultivated potential victims.

Davies has described being terrified and psychologically controlled during her time with Epstein, and has spoken about the long-term trauma that survivors carry. She has been candid in interviews about the way the initial presentation of legitimate work was used to lower the guard of young women before they were exposed to an environment in which refusal became difficult and dangerous.

Civil Litigation and Advocacy

Davies joined other survivors in civil actions against Epstein’s estate and associated parties. She also became a public advocate for trafficking survivors, using media appearances and public statements to support the broader accountability effort. Her clear and consistent testimony helped inform public understanding of how Epstein’s operation recruited, controlled, and abused victims.

Her testimony is particularly valuable because she can speak to the specific mechanics of Maxwell’s direct recruitment methods and to the experience of being employed — functionally trapped — as staff in a household where abuse occurred routinely. Her case illustrates that many of the women in Epstein’s orbit occupied a legally and psychologically ambiguous position: technically employed, but subjected to conditions that constituted trafficking.