Ava Cordero was one of the first people to publicly accuse Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, filing a lawsuit in October 2007 that alleged he assaulted her when she was sixteen. Instead of prompting scrutiny of Epstein, the case triggered a wave of transphobic tabloid coverage that centered on Cordero’s gender identity, and her suit was dismissed on statute of limitations grounds before quietly settling for $28,000 under a nondisclosure agreement.
Who Ava Cordero Is
Cordero was born on November 15, 1983, and assigned male at birth under the name Maximillian Cordero. She began presenting as female around age twelve and worked as a model under the names “Ava” and “Avarelle.”1New York Magazine. Maximilia Cordero She is a transgender Latina woman.
According to her account, around the year 2000, when she was sixteen, an older woman named “Sherrie” introduced her to Epstein with the promise that he could help launch her modeling career.2Pride Source. Ava Cordero
What She Alleged Epstein Did
Cordero alleged that during their first meeting Epstein raised the prospect of modeling for Victoria’s Secret, asked her for a massage, and paid her $300. She said the encounters escalated: he forced her head toward his genitals and demanded oral sex. In court filings, she alleged that between 2000 and 2001, Epstein “violently sexually assaulted” her by forcibly touching her and coercing her into performing sexual acts.3Findlaw. Cordero v Epstein She further alleged that Epstein pursued her for more than a year and at one point tried to recruit her to travel to Thailand to help him find other young people.2Pride Source. Ava Cordero
Her lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in October 2007, named Epstein as the primary defendant. An amended complaint added Nine East 71st Street Corporation, Jeffrey Epstein & Co., Victoria’s Secret Stores Brand Management, and Leslie Wexner, alleging those entities were negligent in allowing the abuse to occur at property Epstein controlled.3Findlaw. Cordero v Epstein
How the Press Covered Her Accusation
The media reaction focused almost entirely on Cordero’s gender identity rather than the substance of her allegations. On October 23, 2007, the New York Post ran an article headlined “GENDER-BEND SHOCKER: Kinky-Sex Suit Gal Is a Man,” written by Dareh Gregorian. The piece misgendered Cordero throughout, used male pronouns, and framed her transition as a “secret” designed to deceive. It quoted Epstein’s spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, calling the revelations “shocking” and arguing that Cordero “should not be believed.”4New York Post. Gender-Bend Shocker
The next day, the Post ran a follow-up under the headline “(S)HE HAS A HISTORY: Bogus Sex Suit,” which characterized Cordero’s claims as fabricated. It referred to her as “the transsexual” and stated she was “still a biological male.”5New York Post. She Has a History New York magazine ran a piece titled “Maximilia Cordero Is a Dude,” and the Associated Press quoted Epstein’s attorney Gerald Lefcourt questioning Cordero’s sanity.2Pride Source. Ava Cordero
Lefcourt himself dismissed the lawsuit as “ridiculous” and told reporters, “It wouldn’t surprise me if the next claim was from the Loch Ness monster.”4New York Post. Gender-Bend Shocker Cordero’s legal team later called the coverage, along with Rubenstein’s public statements, a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation and discourage other victims from coming forward against Epstein.6New York Magazine. Ava aka Maximilia Cordero v NYP Holdings, Inc.
What Happened to the Lawsuit
Cordero was represented by William J. Unroch, a New York attorney also described in press reports as her roommate and former boyfriend.6New York Magazine. Ava aka Maximilia Cordero v NYP Holdings, Inc.
Epstein’s defense moved to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds. Cordero’s attorneys argued she was entitled to a tolling of the limitations period under CPLR 208, which allows extensions for plaintiffs who were legally “insane” during the relevant period. At a July 2008 hearing, psychiatrist Dr. Robert Goldstein testified that while Cordero had a history of psychiatric hospitalizations and substance abuse, there was “no indication that she is or ever was ‘insane'” under the statute. The court found she had shown the ability to protect her legal rights by filing lawsuits, executing contracts, and verifying complaints.7vLex. Cordero v Epstein
On October 10, 2008, Justice Edward H. Lehner granted the motion to dismiss. The court ruled that Cordero’s claims against Epstein were barred by the one-year statute of limitations for intentional torts and the five-year limitation for specific sexual acts, and that negligence claims against the other defendants were barred by a three-year limit. The court also denied her attempt to amend the complaint to invoke longer limitation periods under the New York City Administrative Code, finding those provisions preempted by state law.3Findlaw. Cordero v Epstein
According to Pride Source, Cordero ultimately settled the case out of court for $28,000 and signed a nondisclosure agreement.2Pride Source. Ava Cordero The figure sits far below the sums later awarded to other Epstein victims through compensation funds.
Her Defamation Suit Against the New York Post
In November 2007, Cordero and Unroch filed a $100 million lawsuit against NYP Holdings, Inc., reporter Dareh Gregorian, and others, alleging libel, invasion of medical privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.8Courthouse News Service. Alleged Sex Assault Victim Demands $100 Million From New York Post The complaint called the Post‘s coverage a “vicious smear campaign” coordinated with Epstein’s publicist.
In June 2008, Justice Walter B. Tolub dismissed most of the claims. He held that Cordero had put her gender at birth, psychiatric history, drug use, and HIV status into the public record through her own verified complaints in other lawsuits, so those statements could not sustain defamation. One narrow claim survived, involving the Post‘s reporting on alleged sexual fantasies from her MySpace page.9Justia. Ava v NYP Holdings, Inc. On July 2, 2009, the Appellate Division, First Department, unanimously reversed and dismissed that last claim, holding the article was not “reasonably susceptible of a defamatory connotation” as a matter of law.10Findlaw. Ava v NYP Holdings, Inc.
Why the Timing Mattered
Cordero filed her lawsuit in October 2007, during the window when federal prosecutors in Florida were quietly negotiating an end to their Epstein investigation. By September 2007, they had signed a Non-Prosecution Agreement that allowed Epstein to plead guilty to state solicitation charges and serve eighteen months in county jail, with no requirement to notify his victims.11U.S. Department of Justice. Office of Professional Responsibility Investigation Epstein entered his state guilty plea in June 2008. In 2019, a federal court found the government had violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act by failing to consult victims before entering the agreement.
Cordero’s case landed in that same window. She was publicly accusing Epstein at essentially the same moment federal prosecutors were letting him off with a lenient plea, and neither event drew sustained public scrutiny.
Where Ava Cordero Is Now
Cordero’s life after the lawsuits was marked by continued hardship. She was jailed at Rikers Island following a dispute with Unroch, convicted of burglary in 2014 and sentenced to seven months in prison, and arrested again in 2017 for allegedly attempting to steal roughly $1,000 worth of merchandise from a Manhattan Victoria’s Secret store.2Pride Source. Ava Cordero
As of 2025, Cordero is alive and living in a facility for people experiencing homelessness who are living with HIV or struggling with addiction. When a Pride Source journalist reached her by phone, she declined to be interviewed, saying only, “I’m so sorry, but I can’t.”2Pride Source. Ava Cordero
Why the Case Is Being Revisited
Cordero’s story resurfaced in 2025 when transgender activist Eli Erlick posted on X: “One of Epstein’s victims was a trans woman, but nobody paid attention because she’s trans + Latina. The Post and Times of Israel even ran hit pieces on Ava Cordero. Epstein could’ve been stopped sooner if society listened to POC, trans people or girls.”12PinkNews. Jeffrey Epstein Trans Accuser Mocked Ava Cordero The post prompted follow-up reporting from PinkNews, LGBTQ Nation, and Pride Source, which described Cordero as a “resilient example of how American society, and mainstream media in particular, abuses, misuses and ultimately discards its most marginalized people.”2Pride Source. Ava Cordero
Many cisgender Epstein accusers were later championed by the #MeToo movement, testified before Congress, and received substantial compensation. Cordero was publicly humiliated in print, saw her lawsuit dismissed on procedural grounds, and settled for $28,000 under a gag order.