Photo: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images
Virginia Roberts Giuffreis speaking out afterGhislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and heiress who dated convicted sex offenderJeffrey Epstein, was found guilty of helping her former boyfriend groom underage girls for sexual abuse.
Giuffre, a vocalEpstein survivor, said Wednesday’s verdict gave her the justice that her “soul yearned for.”
“My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always,” she tweeted. “Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell’s abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed.”
Giuffre continued, “I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be.”
Though she was not included in the trial against Maxwell, Giuffre has been outspoken about the abuse she experienced in the past.
On Wednesday, the jury convicted Maxwell of five out of six felony charges that accused her of recruiting, enticing and transporting minors to engage in illegal sex acts with Epstein.
Jeffrey Epstein.Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty
Giuffre also alleges that Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to rich and powerful men, includingPrince Andrew.
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Prince Andrew; Virginia Roberts Giuffre.Alexander Koerner/Getty; Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty
The royal has denied any wrongdoing. Two months after Epstein’s death, Andrewparticipated in a BBC interviewintended to clarify his relationship with the disgraced financier and also address Giuffre’s allegations.
When BBCNewsnightanchor Emily Maitlis raised the issue of a photograph showing the royal with his arm around Giuffre’s waist — thought to have been taken inside the London home of Maxwell on March 10, 2001, when Giuffre was 17 years old — the royal claimed he had no recollection of the encounter.
“I don’t remember that photograph ever being taken,” he said. “I don’t remember going upstairs in the house because that photograph was taken upstairs and I am not entirely convinced that…I mean that is…that is what I would describe as me in that…in that picture but I can’t…we can’t be certain as to whether or not that’s my hand on her whatever it is, left… left side.”
Prince Andrew’s legal team is expected to argue their motion to dismiss the case on January 4.
source: people.com
