The woman Colorado restaurateurKimbal Musk admitted to dating after his name appeared in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files appears to be the same woman who was sexually abused and trafficked by the disgraced financier for nearly a decade, according to court records and news reports.

Epstein helped introduce Musk and the woman, and the woman continued corresponding with Epstein about her relationship with Musk while they dated, records show, contradictingMusk’s assertion that Epstein was not involved in the connection.

In an anonymous civil lawsuit filed against Epstein’s estate in 2019, a woman details a similar pattern of abuse asa 2021 Guardian article reports the woman who dated Musk experienced, including being forced into a marriage.

In a statement on X, Musk said the woman he dated was 30 years old when they dated, while the woman in the lawsuit would have been in her early 20s at that time, according to court filings.

Musk, 53, has come under scrutiny after the U.S. Department of Justice released more than 3 million pages of documents related to theEpstein investigation on Jan. 30. His brother,Tesla co-founder Elon Musk, also appears in the files.

Kimbal Musk is mentionedmore than 300 times in the documents, either by his first or full name.

Many of those files are duplicate emails or newsletters sent out by Musk or his Boulder-based company, The Kitchen Collective.

But the files also shed light on Musk’s connection to Epstein, giving details about the woman’s relationship with Musk in emails sent over the course of several months in 2012 and 2013.

Musk thanked Epstein and an associate, Boris Nikolic, for connecting him to the woman in an Oct. 7, 2012 email.

The Denver Post is not identifying the woman by name because she is a victim of sexual assault, and she could not be reached for comment.

In astatement posted on X, Musk denied that Epstein introduced the pair and said he only met Epstein once, at his New York office.

Musk and his spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

The woman’s name appears throughout Epstein’s emails in connection to Musk, poorly redacted in some files and not at all in others. The emails do not indicate that Musk was aware of the extent of Epstein’s knowledge or involvement in his relationship with the woman.

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Some redactions make it impossible to tell who Epstein is communicating with or who they are talking about.

The woman has previously been identified as an Epstein victim by one of her attorneys, Bradley Edwards, who described her as ensnared, abused and forced into marriage by Epstein,according to the 2021 article from The Guardian. New York court records confirm she filed for divorce from Epstein’s longtime girlfriend,Karyna Shuliak, in 2017.

Edwards did not respond to emails sent to his law firm seeking comment.

Court records show Edwards was one of the attorneys who filed civil lawsuits against Epstein’s estate on behalf of three anonymous victims in August 2019, with one victim stating Epstein forced her to marry a non-citizen who was a “recruiter” for Epstein so that that person could gain permanent residency status.

The woman, a New York resident identified by the pseudonym Katlyn Doe, filed for divorce in 2017 — the same year the woman Musk dated divorced Shuliak, according to court records.

Doe was groomed, sexually assaulted and trafficked by Epstein after meeting him in 2007, when she was 17 years old, her attorneys wrote in the complaint.

When Doe was first introduced to Epstein by a relative, Epstein said he could help her recover from an eating disorder and promised to pay for an expensive surgery the girl needed.

But Epstein began grooming the girl by giving her gifts and paying for medical care, then sexually assaulted her at his New York mansion, according to the lawsuit.

Epstein coerced her to fly to Florida in 2009, where he was in jail afterpleading guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution, and he sexually assaulted her while he was on work release, the woman’s attorneys wrote.

The abuse continued until 2014, when Doe was 25 years old and deemed “too old” by Epstein, the lawsuit states.

Epstein’s emails mentioning Musk start in September 2012, when Nikolic and Epstein discussed plans to meet Musk for his birthday. Nikolic wrote to Epstein that he told Musk that Epstein would be coming with a woman, whose name was redacted, and Nikolic asked Epstein to “prepare” her.

“She might like Elon as well,” Nikolic wrote.

In an Oct. 19, 2012 email, a redacted sender wrote to Epstein that an unnamed woman was going to meet Musk in Los Angeles.

On Oct. 23, 2012, a redacted sender forwarded Epstein an email from Musk in which Musk asked if the sender wanted to go to London and then continue traveling together.

“The universe is conspiring for us to spend more time together,” Musk wrote.

The sender told Epstein the decision to introduce them to Musk was “genius.”

Epstein told them to stay with Musk through Thanksgiving and then go “somewhere romantic,” like Morocco.

On Oct. 26, 2012, a redacted sender emailed Epstein the woman’s schedule, including when she would land in Denver and when she was scheduled to be with Musk in New York City, London, Morocco and St. Barts in November, December and January.

Epstein invited Musk to his private island to “come relax” for a few days in a Jan. 24, 2013, email, but Musk declined, citing “the nuclear explosion that is my life.”

“Maybe in the spring,” Musk wrote. “Please say hi to (the woman) for me.”

In the post on X, Musk said he never visited Epstein’s island.

Nikolic wrote to Epstein about having dinner with Musk and the woman on March 23, 2013, describing them as “a great couple.” The next day, a redacted sender told Epstein that a woman, whose name was redacted, was flying back to Boulder with Musk.

The relationship appeared to falter a month later, when a redacted sender forwarded Epstein an April 26, 2013, email from Musk apologetically asking to scale back their relationship.

Musk’s name is mentioned sporadically in emails between Epstein and his associates after that point, primarily when people tell Epstein that they are spending time with Musk between 2013 and 2015.

Musk has significant roots in Colorado, openingThe Kitchen on Boulder’s Pearl Street with Chef Hugo Matheson in 2004. The Kitchen now has locations in Denver, Chicago and Austin, Texas.

Musk co-founded a Broomfield-based nonprofit,Big Green, in 2011 to bring learning gardens to schools in Boulder, Denver and across the country. The organization now provides raised bed gardens as well as grant funding for schools and communities.

He also cofounded Nova Sky Stories, a drone light-show company, in Boulder in 2022.

Musk is also onTesla’s board of directors.

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