Some media reports claim that Jeffrey Epstein used Virginia Giuffre as a sex slave. Giuffre claimed that she had sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17.
In what comes as a shocking development, Virginia Giuffre, 41, the woman who accused the UK’s Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by financier Jeffrey Epstein, has died. She died by suicide on Friday at her farm in Western Australia, her publicist confirmed.
“Deeply loving, wise and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” publicist Dini von Mueffling said in a statement.
“She adored her children and many animals. She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words. It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Here’s what Virginia’s family said on her death
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors,” AP quotes her family as saying.
The American-born Giuffre, who lived in Australia for years, became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein’s prolonged downfall.
According to media reports, she had accused Jeffrey Epstein of using her as a sex slave, and she claimed that she had sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17, considered a minor according to US laws. In one of her lawsuits, Giuffre said she had sex with the royal three times: in London during her 2001 trip, at Epstein’s New York mansion when she was 17 and in the Virgin Islands when she was 18.
Epstein took his life in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited his trial for sex crimes.
Prince Andrew denies allegations
Moreover, Prince Andrew has denied the allegations and has reportedly avoided trial by paying the multimillion-dollar settlement. Andrew categorically rejected Giuffre’s allegations and said he didn’t recall having met her.
According to a statement filed in court, the prince, however, acknowledged Epstein was a sex trafficker and Giuffre “an established victim of abuse”
(With inputs from AP)
