One of the women who alleges being raped by Jeffrey Epstein claims his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was the real mastermind.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, now 36, told CBS This Morning on Thursday that Maxwell, who was arrested earlier this month on charges that she recruited and groomed young girls to be sexually exploited, was “pulling the strings” because of her access to the late financier’s money and contacts.
“She is a monster. She’s worse than Epstein. She did things even worse than Epstein did. She was vicious. She was evil, and she’s a woman,” she said, adding, “I know that woman — I’ve known her really well. Put it this way — Epstein was Pinocchio, and she was Geppetto. She was the guy. … She was pulling the strings. She had his money, he had her contacts. But Ghislaine was more conniving and smart than Epstein ever was.”
Giuffre claims Epstein and Maxwell exploited her when she was underage and accused Prince Andrew of forcing her to have sex with him at Maxwell’s home in London and at Epstein’s homes in New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands when she was 17. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Maxwell, 58, has been charged with conspiring with Epstein to recruit, groom, and sexually abuse underage girls, as well as perjury in depositions regarding Epstein. She filed a request for bail of $5 million Friday in a court filing that said she “vigorously denies the charges, intends to fight them, and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.” She pleaded not guilty this week and was denied bail by a judge. Her trial date has been set for July 2021.
The charging document against Maxwell said that “as a part and in furtherance of their scheme to abuse minor victims,” Maxwell and Epstein “enticed and caused minor victims to travel to Epstein’s residences in different states,” including Epstein’s New York City mansion, his Palm Beach estate, his New Mexico ranch, and Maxwell’s London apartment, and that Maxwell “knew and intended [this action] would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse” by Epstein.
Epstein, 66, a registered sex offender and wealthy financier, was arrested last July on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges for allegedly abusing girls as young as 14. He was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in August, which the New York City medical examiner determined to be a suicide.
