Prince Andrew of England and other powerful men accused her teenager of trafficking at the age of 41.
Virginia Giuffre died on Friday, April 25 at her farm in Western Australia.
“She is deeply loved, wise and interesting, and is a beacon for other survivors and victims,” PR officer Dini von Muefffling said in a statement. “She worships her children and many animals. She always cares about me more than I do. I will miss her words. It is a lifelong privilege to represent her.”
Giuffre, an American who lived in Australia for many years, became a champion of survivors of sex trafficking after becoming a central figure in the Epstein scandal.
Epstein, a wealthy and strong financier, committed suicide in August 2019 while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges, involving dozens of teenage girls and young women, some as old as 14 years old. The charge comes after 14 years after police officers in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating allegations of sexual abuse against him.
The initial investigation ended with Epstein of Florida’s 18-month prison sentence, the result of a secret plea agreement that allowed him to avoid federal prosecutions for states to solicit prostitution charges by pleading guilty. He was released in 2009.
Giuffre has since come forward, saying she was Mar-A-Lago’s teenage spa (Donald Trump’s Palm Beach Club) when Epstein’s girlfriend and colleague Ghislaine Maxwell came into contact with her in 2000.
Giuffre said Maxwell hired her as a masseur, but she was soon forced to become a sexual servant to Epstein and his colleagues. She said she had sex with influential men, including Prince Andrew, around the world, at the age of 17 and 18.
The people denied her allegations and questioned her credibility. Giuffre admits changing some of the details of her story, including her age when she met Epstein. However, parts of her account are confirmed through documents, witness testimony and photos, including one with Prince Andrew, his bare waisted arms, in Maxwell’s London townhouse.
Giuffre noted in the lawsuit that she had sex with Prince Andrew three times: in London in 2001, at Epstein’s New York mansion at 17, and in the Virgin Islands at the age of 18.
Givray told NBC News “Dateline” in 2019.
Prince Andrew denied the allegations and claimed he did not remember meeting Jufrey. His denials were under rigorous scrutiny after a 2019 BBC interview, during which he offered unusual rebuttals, such as claiming that medical conditions prevented him from sweating, refuting Giuffre’s memories of his sweating while dancing.
The interview has received widespread criticism for its lack of empathy. Shortly thereafter, he withdrew from the royal duty. In 2022, he reached a settlement with Impulse, agreeing to donate to her charity and donate. A statement acknowledged that Epstein was a sex dealer and impatience was “an established victim of abuse.”
Giuffre filed other lawsuits against Epstein and several others in his circle, resolving some of them. In one case, she withdrew her claims against a prominent American lawyer and said she might have mistaken him for someone else.
Epstein’s death ends the possibility of criminal prosecution against his accusers. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She denied responsibility for Epstein’s actions. Prosecutors did not include Jufrey’s charges at the trial, but later Giffrey described Maxwell as the man who “opened the door to hell” in court.
Giuffre, born in Virginia Roberts, said she was sexually abused during her childhood by a man she knew. She fled her home and later suffered more abuse. In 2002, while receiving massage training arranged by Epstein in Thailand, she met her future husband. She got married, moved to Australia, and started a family. In 2015, she founded the advocacy organization Soar.
Her public relations staff said last month that she was recently hospitalized after a serious accident. No detailed information about the date, location, or nature of the event was provided. A recent Instagram post recently claimed that she had been in a car hit by a school bus and her condition was crucial.
