Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexually exploiting her as a teenager, has died aged 41. She died by suicide at her farm in Western Australia on Friday, her publicist confirmed.
In a statement, her family said: "Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors. Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure."
The Epstein allegations
Giuffre became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors "after emerging as a central figure in Epstein's prolonged downfall", said The Associated Press.
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She came forward publicly with her story after the initial investigation into Epstein's crimes ended in only an 18-month jail term for the late financier. He made a secret deal to avoid federal prosecution by pleading guilty to relatively minor state-level charges of soliciting prostitution.
In subsequent lawsuits, Giuffre said she was a teenage spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's Florida home, when she was approached in 2000 by Epstein's girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Giuffre said Maxwell hired her as a masseuse, "but the couple effectively made her a sexual servant" for Epstein and his associates. That included Prince Andrew, whom she says she was forced to have sex with three times while she was 17 and 18. "Ghislaine said, 'I want you to do for him what you do for Epstein'," Giuffre told NBC's Dateline in 2019.
Prince Andrew has always vehemently denied the accusations, claiming in a now infamous 2019 Newsnight interview that he had "no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever". In 2022, he settled Giuffre's lawsuit out of court, agreeing to a "substantial donation" to her charity, though admitting no liability.
Unanswered questions
Giuffre's death "will leave questions that are now likely to remain unanswered", said the BBC. Her name will "always be associated with the scandals and criminality" surrounding Epstein and his associates. As a young woman "she had the strength to stand up to a toxic mix of power, money and privilege in the circle surrounding Epstein, who sexually exploited so many girls".
"In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight," her family said in a statement issued on Saturday. But there will now be suspicions that "the long shadow of Epstein's poisonous misuse of wealth and influence has indirectly claimed another victim".
Giuffre's passing "will weigh heavily on all involved in this most shameful of episodes", said The Telegraph, and the accusations against Prince Andrew, though "unproven", will be "linked to him for life". For Prince Andrew, Giuffre's death "draws the most tragic of lines under a period of his life he hoped would end in redemption, and now will not".
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