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aroundVirginiaGiuffre’swaistin

London in 2001. She was just 17 at the

time. ABOVE: Virginia claims that she

was Epstein’s sex slave for four years

and he would lend her to his influential

friends.

use of death.

While prison authorities faced heated

iticism for how they could allow such

high-profile prisoner to die on their

atch, conspiracy theories abounded

out the powerful people who’d possi-

y have liked to see Epstein dead before

could testify in court.

Outside his New York home someone

rawled the message “XOXO Hillary +

ll” in chalk, a reference to Hillary and

Bill Clinton.

But the former US president, who trav-

elled with Epstein on his private plane

with actors Kevin Spacey and Chris

Tucker on a trip to Africa in 2002, claims

not to have spoken to Epstein in more

than a decade.

Trump has also distanced himself

from the convicted sex offender after a

video from 1992 recently surfaced that

showed them partying together at his

Mar-A-Lago estate.

The president recently revealed they’d

fallen out and hadn’t had contact in 15

years. But before the friendship soured

he’d clearly enjoyed Epstein’s company.

“It is even said that he likes beautiful

women as much as I do, and many of

them are on the younger side,” Trump

once remarked.

While there haven’t been any claims

that either Trump or Clinton took part

inanythingillegal,peoplearekeento

knowhow muchtheyknewabout

Epstein’s activities.

Americaninvestigatorsarealsolook-

ingintotheroleplayedbyGhislaine,

Epstein’s on-off girlfriend. There are

claims she actively recruited young girls

for him and would sometimes partici-

pate in the abuse.

In court documents Virginia says the

first time she met Epstein it was Ghis-

laine who instructed her to take her

clothes off and give him oral sex.

Johanna says it was Ghislaine’s job to

provide Epstein with young girls at least

three times a day.

Even though he’s dead she, and the

other women he allegedly abused, hope

the law will take its course.

“Epstein is gone, but justice must still

be served,” Jennifer Araoz says. “I hope

the authorities will pursue and prose-

cute his accomplices and enablers, and

ensure redress for his victims.” S

SOURCES:DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, CNN.COM, NYTIMES.COM,

AUSTRALIAN.COM.AU

powerfulmen,includingBritain’sPrince

Andrew,whomsheclaimsshewasforced

tohavesexwithonthreeoccasionsin

London,NewYorkandtheCaribbean.

AlthoughtheDukeofYorkwasphoto-

graphedwithhisarmaroundthethen

17-year-old’swaistin 2001 hedeniesthat

anythingimpropertranspired.

ButVirginiaisn’ttheonlyonemaking

claimsagainsttheprince.Incourtdocu-

mentsJohannaSjobergclaimsthatin

2001 whenshewas 21 Andrewgroped

herbreastwhilehewasvisitingEpstein’s

NewYorkhome.

Virginiaallegesthatforfouryears

Epsteintreatedherasa sexslave,lending

herouttohisfriends.Thestringofmen

shesaysshewasforcedtohavesexwith

includeanAmericangovernor,a com-

puterscientist,a foreignpresidentand

anunnamedprince.

Epsteinallegedly lenther out to

powerfulpeopleinordertoingratiate

himself.

But in 2005 he started to come under

scrutiny after a 14-year-old girl told po-

lice he’d molested her at his Palm Beach

mansion. This sparked an FBI investiga-

tion, which resulted in about 40 under-

age girls making similar claims.

After a raid on his home he was able to

negotiate a plea deal that saw him serv-

ing just 18 months in prison in return for

him pleading guilty to a single charge of

soliciting prostitution from an underage

girl.

But after Epstein walked free in 2009,

five months early, allegations about his

sordid activities continued.

Earlier this year America’s justice

department began a review of his plea

deal. In July federal agents raided his

New York home and discovered hun-

dreds of photographs of naked minors.

Epstein was arrested and charged with

sex trafficking. 

Apparently there’s evidence that “doz-

ens” of underage girls were brought to

his mansions for sex. He’s said to have

offered them money to give him massag-

es, which would become “increasingly

sexual in nature”.

A

FEW weeks after his arrest

Epstein was put on suicide

watch at the Metropolitan

Correctional Centre after

he apparently tried to hang

himself.

Butearlierthismonth,aftera court

ordered that 2 000 documents revealing

more about his sordid activities be un-

sealed, he was found hanging in his cell.

At the time of going to print the New

York medical examiner was conducting

an investigation to determine the exact

ABOVE LEFT: Jennifer Araoz claims that

Epstein raped her when she was 15. ABOVE

RIGHT: Johanna Sjoberg says she was hired

as a personal assistant but within a day she

was coerced into having sex with Epstein.

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