VIRGINIA Giuffre “was a brave fighter but never got over horrific abuse she suffered at Epstein’s hands” an expert has said.
The mum-of-three is said to have died by suicide at her home in Western Australia last night.
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Virginia was sex trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and accused the Duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was 17.
Royal expert and author Hugo Vickers said it was a tragedy that Virginia caught up with “evil and manipulative” Epstein.
He said: “The rough trajectory of her life seems to me that, she was being abused on the streets, and she probably saw Epstein as a way out of that…then got considerably out of her depth because he was a very evil and manipulative man.
“Anyone who got involved with him did so at their peril, and that includes Prince Andrew, and that certainly includes Virginia Giuffre.”
He said despite her bravely fighting, having campaigned against Epstein’s vile abuse for years, she was not able to continue.
“She then went forward to represent a lot of the other victims and was effective in that,” Hugo added.
“But there seems to be quite a lot of things that we don’t know about, which were going on in the background.
“It’s obviously the end of a series of very tragic circumstances that has brought her to this point.”
Who was Virginia Giuffre?
VIRGINIA Roberts – later Virginia Giuffre, 41, was an American-Australian campaigner and a prominent victim of the sex trafficking ring of Jeffrey Epstein.
She made claims against Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, as well as Brit socialite Ghislaine Maxwell – Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-lover.
Giuffre alleged in court documents that she was procured by Maxwell, 63, the daughter of disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell, as a teenage “sex slave” for Epstein.
She released a manuscript just hours before Epstein’s death, which added to more than 2,000 documents of a lawsuit pending against the former financier and his pals.
The legal documents were released in a defamation case involving Giuffre, who has claimed in court documents that Prince Andrew slept with her three times.
In 2019, Virginia Roberts claimed that she had sex with Prince Andrew in a toilet when she was 17, after a night where he had allegedly been plying her with vodka in a posh London club.
On February 15, 2022, it was announced that Prince Andrew settled the lawsuit – sparing him a humiliating court battle.
The mum-of-three died by suicide on April 26 aged 41 at her home in Western Australia just weeks after she was treated in an Australian hospital following a bus crash.
Virginia was an American-Australian campaigner who advocated against abuse and exploitation.
She accused Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, of involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network.
Virginia also alleged that British socialite, and Epstein’s warped lover, Ghislaine Maxwell played a key role in facilitating the paedophile’s crimes.
Giuffre alleged in court documents that she was procured by Maxwell, 57, the daughter of disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell, as a teenage “sex slave” for Epstein.
She released a manuscript just hours before Epstein’s death, which added to more than 2,000 documents of a lawsuit pending against the former financier and his pals.
The legal documents were released in a defamation case involving Giuffre, who has claimed in court documents that Prince Andrew slept with her three times.
In 2019, Virginia Roberts claimed that she had sex with Prince Andrew in a toilet when she was 17, after a night where he had allegedly been plying her with vodka in a posh London club.
During a “train wreck” interview with Emily Maitlis, Andrew who was later stripped of all royal duties, denied he had slept with Virginia on three separate occasions – twice while she was underage.
The Duke of York said he had “no recollection” of meeting American Virginia Roberts Giuffre, despite an alleged photograph showing him clutching at her bare midriff.
Hugo added: “I think, as it unfolds, it’s going to be we’re going to see a whole, probably a saga of horrific events quite frankly.”
Her family said the toll of her abuse was “so heavy” it became “unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight”.
They said in a statement today: “It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”
They added: “Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
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