Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her, has died aged 41.
The family announced with great sadness that Virginia passed away at her farm in Western Australia, as reported by 9News.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.”
Prince Andrew strenuously denied her allegations.
In 2022, King Charles’ sibling reached a settlement with Giuffre, agreeing to pay her a substantial amount to resolve a legal dispute outside of court. The accusation involved alleged sexual assault when Giuffre was 17 years old.
In 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of federal charges related to sex trafficking and conspiracy. She received a 20-year prison sentence. Maxwell denied responsibility for Epstein’s actions.
Prosecutors elected not to include Giuffre’s allegations in the Maxwell case, but Giuffre later told the court that the British socialite had “opened the door to hell”.
Giuffre, born Virginia Roberts, told interviewers that her childhood was shattered when she was sexually abused as a grade-schooler by a man her family knew. She later ran away from home and endured more abuse, she said.
She said she met her now-husband in 2002 while taking massage training in Thailand at Epstein’s behest.
She married, moved to Australia and had a family.
Giuffre founded an advocacy charity, SOAR, in 2015.
Giuffre was hospitalised after a serious accident, her publicist said last month.
She didn’t answer questions about the date, location, nature or other specifics of the accident and about the accuracy of an Instagram post that appeared to come from Giuffre.
The post said she had been in a car that was hit by a school bus and her prognosis was dire.
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