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Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, US News, Crime, Virginia Giuffre, Books
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, US News, Crime, Virginia Giuffre, Books
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and sexual abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Sex-trafficking survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre recalled a number of disturbing revelations about convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in her posthumous memoir, which was released just yesterday (21 October).
In the book, Giuffre, who tragically died by suicide at the age of 41 back in April, discussed the horrifying treatment she endured from the dead financier as well as his accomplices and friends, which include Ghislaine Maxwell and, allegedly, Prince Andrew.
Prince Andrew surrendered his remaining royal honours - specifically his 'Duke of York' title - in response to new revelations about his relationship with Epstein last week (17 October). He denies all allegations against him.
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In the 400-page book, titled Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, Giuffre claims that Epstein - who faced federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 before dying in jail awaiting trial - made a seriously disturbing 'scientific justification' for sexually assaulting young girls.
She began: "Epstein liked share with me what he insisted were 'scientific' justifications for his yearnings for young girls.
"For example, he would only have sex with girls who had started menstruating. Why? So he could assert that—since they were biologically able to bear children—they were 'of age'. I was flabbergasted when he said this stuff, but I held my tongue.
"No matter how young a girl looked, or how sexually inexperienced she was, if she had her period, he felt he could defend his abuse of her as part of the natural order of things. I was never sure who he imagined making this argument to - the girls themselves? His business associates? Law-enforcement officers? Himself? - but it was clear that he took a certain glee in what he saw as a loophole in society's moral code."
Giuffre went on to recall the 'fact that different nations and states define the age of consent differently (in Florida it's eighteen; in New York it's seventeen; in England it's sixteen) only gave him ammunition'.
"He said these inconsistencies proved these laws were arbitrary and meaningless; no one could convince him that sex with minors was wrong, because no one could agree on what a minor was!" she continued.
Giuffre added that Epstein also claimed that because women, unlike men, can have multiple orgasms, 'that meant they were supposed to have multiple sexual partners as well'.
"His logic was loopy, propped up by pseudoscience, but he presented it as reality. I never challenged him. It was easier to pretend to believe him," she recalled.
Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice is available in bookstores now.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.