The woman who accused Donald Trump of raping her when she was 13 years old at a party failed to show up at a press conference to give her first public statement as she "received terrible threats" and was "in great fear".

Her lawyer, Lisa Bloom, told reporters at a Los Angeles press conference that the accuser was "unable ultimately to do this".

Ms Bloom said the accuser planned to reschedule the press conference.

The accuser, known only as Jane Doe, alleged that the presidential candidate raped her at a 1994 party in a New York apartment of billionaire investor Jeffrey Epstein.

"Jane Doe has received numerous threats today, as have all the Trump accusers that I have represented," Ms Bloom told reporters.

"She is living in fear. She has decided that she is too afraid to show her face. She has been here all day, ready to do it, but unfortunately, she’s in terrible fear."

Mr Trump has strongly denied the allegations. His lawyer, Alan Garten, said the allegations were “reckless, irresponsible and categorically untrue”.

The lawyer is the daughter of Gloria Allred, the lawyer who has represented various other women who have accused Mr Trump of sexual assault, including former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos.

Two witness statements have been submitted from Tiffany Doe, a woman who claims to have worked as a “recruiter” of young women for Epstein’s parties. Joan Doe said that the alleged victim shared the story of the assault a few months after she said they occurred between 1994 and 1995.

In court documents, the plaintiff said she was assaulted at four different parties. She is suing for $75,000.

Loading....

Jane Doe told her lawyer she had been persuaded into attending the parties with the promise of money and a modeling career.

“During the course of this savage sexual attack, Plaintiff loudly pleaded with Defendant Trump to stop but with no effect. Defendant Trump responded to Plaintiff’s pleas by violently striking Plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted.”

The alleged victim claimed that Mr Trump threatened to physically harm or kill her and her family if she told anyone what had happened.

There has been little media coverage of the alleged rape case - the press conference was not aired on CNN or MSNBC on Wednesday - even though there is a court date set for 16 December.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution and served a portion of an 18-year sentence.

In a New York magazine profile of Epstein before he went to prison, Mr Trump said: "I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy.

"He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it ― Jeffrey enjoys his social life."

The accuser remained anonymous for months, which posed problems for reporters covering the case, as they had to be sure before alleging a very serious crime against a presidential candidate.

Mr Trump has also denied allegations from at least a dozen other women over the last few months, who have come forward to share their stories of alleged assault, groping and kissing without consent, some accusations going back decades.