Epstein Accuser On Prince Andrew: 'He Was An Abuser. He Was A Participant.'
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has accused Britain’s Prince Andrew of raping her three times at the behest of Jeffrey Epstein when she was a minor, told her story to NBC in an interview set to air Friday.
“He was an abuser. He was a participant,” Giuffre, now in her mid-30s, told NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie in a segment broadcast on the “Today” show. A longer version of the interview airs later on Friday on Dateline NBC.
Giuffre claimed in a 2015 lawsuit that she was recruited to have sex with Epstein and his friends, including Prince Andrew, by the financier’s alleged madame, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell allegedly enlisted Giuffre when she was 15, when she was working at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Giuffre has previously alleged that Prince Andrew was among the men Epstein forced her into sex with during his around-the-world abuse trips. Her NBC interview, however, is her first since Andrew’s statement in August repeating his vehement denial of her allegations.
“That first time in London, I was so young. Ghislaine woke me up in the morning and she said, ‘You’re going to meet a prince today.’ I didn’t know at that point that I was going to be trafficked to that prince,” Giuffre told NBC.
“Ghislaine said, ‘He’s coming back to the house. And I want you to do for him [Prince Andrew] what you do for Epstein,’” Giuffre added. “I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that even royalty was involved.”
Prince Andrew has steadfastly denied the rape allegations since Giuffre first came forward years ago.
Giuffre was joined in the interview by five other women who say Epstein sexually abused them when they were teenagers. One of them, Anouska De Georgiou, reflected on how hard it’s been to come forward with her story, even with the support of so many others who say they had similar experiences.
“I think the nature of this kind of abuse is that you’re conditioned to be silenced, to be isolated, secretive and shameful,” De Georgiou said.
Epstein was found dead from suspected suicide in his New York City jail cell in August while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking underage girls. Prosecutors said the financier abused dozens of girls on private islands and at his Manhattan mansion, his home in Palm Beach, Florida, and his New Mexico ranch.
Although the criminal case against Epstein has ended, prosecutors have vowed to continue investigating any co-conspirators, who could be criminally charged. Epstein’s accusers may also pursue civil litigation against the financier’s estate.
Related...
Newly Unsealed Court Records Detail Jeffrey Epstein And Prince Andrew Accusations
Jeffrey Epstein Once Said Criminalizing Sex With Underage Girls Was A 'Cultural Aberration'
Jeffrey Epstein Accusers Get Their Day In Court After His Death
Prince Andrew 'Knows Exactly What He's Done,' Epstein Accuser Says
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
