Johanna Sjoberg’s voice trembled as she recounted the moment under oath: Prince Andrew, sitting right beside her on the sofa in Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, reached over and groped her breast. No private room, no whispered advance—just a casual, entitled touch in front of Virginia Giuffre, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Epstein himself. They were all laughing, snapping photos with a grotesque puppet of the prince already positioned on Giuffre’s chest in the same obscene way.
The then-21-year-old massage therapist later described the violation in unsealed court files, painting a picture of brazen disregard for consent among the powerful. What began as a bizarre photo-op turned into a humiliating assault, carried out openly, as if it were nothing at all.
Her explosive testimony now brands her the “second victim” to publicly accuse Prince Andrew—leaving one chilling question hanging: how many more women endured the same treatment in silence?
Johanna Sjoberg’s voice trembled as she recounted the moment under oath: Prince Andrew, sitting right beside her on the sofa in Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, reached over and groped her breast. No private room, no whispered advance—just a casual, entitled touch in front of Virginia Giuffre, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Epstein himself. They were all laughing, snapping photos with a grotesque puppet of the prince already positioned on Giuffre’s chest in the same obscene way.
The then-21-year-old massage therapist later described the violation in unsealed court files, painting a picture of brazen disregard for consent among the powerful. What began as a bizarre photo-op turned into a humiliating assault, carried out openly, as if it were nothing at all.
Her explosive testimony now brands her the “second victim” to publicly accuse Prince Andrew—leaving one chilling question hanging: how many more women endured the same treatment in silence?
The episode occurred in 2001 at Epstein’s opulent Upper East Side residence. Sjoberg, a college student from Florida at the time, had been recruited to work as a massage therapist for Epstein, initially believing the job was legitimate and well-paid. In her 2016 deposition—taken as part of Virginia Giuffre’s civil lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell and later made public—Sjoberg detailed how Maxwell brought out a caricature puppet of Prince Andrew, originally crafted for the BBC satirical show Spitting Image. A tag confirmed its identity.
The mood seemed lighthearted when someone proposed taking pictures. Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew sat together on a couch. The puppet was placed on Giuffre’s lap, its hand deliberately positioned on her breast. Sjoberg was then directed to sit on Andrew’s lap. As the group laughed and the camera clicked, Andrew placed his hand on Sjoberg’s breast. She recalled the moment starkly: “Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo.” The act took place in the formal living room, fully visible to everyone present, with no apparent hesitation or objection.
Sjoberg’s testimony does not allege any further assault by the prince, but it captures a disturbing normalization of boundary violation. The puppet’s mocking gesture mirrored the real action, turning what might have been dismissed as a prank into a clear act of objectification and humiliation.
This account stands alongside Virginia Giuffre’s allegations that she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to Prince Andrew for sex when she was 17. Giuffre’s lawsuit against the Duke of York was settled out of court in 2022, with no admission of liability from Andrew, who has consistently denied all accusations. Buckingham Palace has described Sjoberg’s claims as “categorically untrue,” and the prince has rejected any suggestion of improper behavior.
Jeffrey Epstein’s operation depended on wealth, connections, and the silencing of vulnerable young women. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and conspiracy, receiving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in custody awaiting trial. Sjoberg’s sworn words add another piece to the grim mosaic of exploitation that flourished unchecked for years.
The puppet incident—grotesque, casual, yet profoundly invasive—stands as a symbol of how power could erase consent and dignity. It compels society to ask: how many other women faced similar or worse treatment, too frightened, ashamed, or disbelieved to speak out? Each unsealed document and each survivor’s testimony erodes the long silence that once shielded the elite. Sjoberg’s trembling recollection ensures that the question remains, urgent and unavoidable.
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