ToplineThe House Oversight Committee will interview Sarah Kellen on Thursday, the longtime personal assistant to Jeffrey Epstein, as her role in Epstein’s alleged abuse has proved particularly controversial—with her being both singled out as a potential “co-conspirator” to the financier while also arguing she was instead another victim of his sexual abuse.Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Sept. 8, 2004. Corbis via Getty ImagesKey FactsKellen is testifying Thursday as part of the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing investigation into Epstein and his alleged abuse, in a closed-door hearing that will not be broadcast publicly.She worked for Epstein for more than a decade starting in 2001, according to MS Now, and has been under public scrutiny since being listed as one of four “co-conspirators” in the 2007 non-prosecution agreement Epstein reached with law enforcement, which said prosecutors would not bring charges against Kellen and other co-conspirators as a condition of the deal.Epstein victims have alleged Kellen helped schedule and prepare massages in which Epstein allegedly abused women, and documents show prosecutors investigated Kellen following Epstein’s 2019 indictment and subsequent death and considered charging her with witness tampering.Kellen alleged she was not aware that any of the women Epstein saw were underage and alleged she was also sexually abused by the late financier, with one document saying she told prosecutors she had sexual contact with him “pretty often,” and was at one point “aggressively raped.”No charges have ever been filed against Kellen, with her attorney Kathleen Cassidy telling MS Now that after Kellen disclosed Epstein’s abuse of her, “prosecutors recognized her as a victim and declined to prosecute.”Her role in Epstein’s abuse has remained controversial and some lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee have condemned her actions, with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., telling Politico, “If you’re an adult female and you’re recruiting underage girls, you’re not a victim. You’re a prostitute, a child predator, and a sex trafficker.”While Kellen’s interview Thursday will not be open to the public, the House Oversight Committee has traditionally released transcripts of its Epstein-related interviews to the public in the days following the testimony.Crucial QuoteIn a 2020 email to prosecutors, Kellen’s attorneys argued the former assistant should not be prosecuted because “we see her basically as a cog in Epstein's wheel, acting entirely at his direction and doing what she did at a time that she herself was a very vulnerable victim.”What Did Kellen Know About Epstein’s Alleged Abuse?Kellen has previously told prosecutors she scheduled Epstein’s daily massages and was given a list of women to call, but she viewed the “masseuses as her peers — i.e. young adults in their early 20s — and it never [crossed] her mind that any of them were minors,” according to a 2019 DOJ memo quoted by ABC News. She allegedly did not know about Epstein’s alleged abuse of minors until “news articles started coming out about it" in the mid-2000s, and “recalled being shocked, angry, and disappointed,” prosecutors wrote, adding, “She was particularly angry with Epstein for manipulating her to help orchestrate the abuse of other women.” Other Epstein victims have questioned Kellen’s account, with Teresa Helm telling British outlet The i Paper that Kellen “groomed” her for Epstein and she was unconvinced that Kellen “didn’t know what she was doing.” (A lawyer for Kellen told MS Now that she never met Helm.)What Has Kellen Alleged About Epstein?In a 2020 interview with prosecutors, Kellen alleged she repeatedly performed “sexual favors” for Epstein, and had encounters that also involved associate Ghislaine Maxwell and other women. She alleged she felt “ashamed” during her encounters with Epstein and “did not feel that she had a choice,” also noting she “did not know who to tell” about Epstein’s alleged abuse because her friends were all through the financier. Kellen “described Epstein as an overpowering, ominous figure,” prosecutors wrote in their interview notes, and she “could feel Epstein’s wrath if she did not do what he wanted.” According to sources cited by MS Now, prosecutors also proposed charging Epstein based on allegations he assaulted Kellen on a plane in 2005, but the charges were never brought since Kellen was instead identified as a co-conspirator. The former assistant also told the government she continued to see Epstein every few months even after she stopped working for him, however, and that the financier gave her money for an apartment renovation. Epstein told Kellen “that she would always be safe and he would always take care of her,” the interview notes recount.Who Were The Other Co-Conspirators Listed In The Non-Prosecution Agreement?Along with Kellen, the non-prosecution agreement also identified Epstein’s longtime secretary Lesley Groff, Epstein assistant Adriana Ross and Epstein’s girlfriend Nadia Marcinko as co-conspirators who were shielded from prosecution under the terms of the agreement. None have ever been charged with a crime, and the House Oversight Committee is also set to interview Groff in June.Further ReadingSet to appear before Congress, an Epstein ‘potential co-conspirator’ says she, too, was a victim (MS Now)Former Epstein assistant to appear before House committee (ABC News)Victim or co-conspirator? House investigators grapple with the role of Epstein's assistant. (Politico)