Epstein accusers brand the paedophile a ‘coward’ who robbed them of justice when he killed himself
A self-described “sex slave” of Jeffrey Epstein has taken aim at Prince Andrew after an emotional court hearing in which the disgraced financier’s alleged victims shared their harrowing stories.
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A woman who called herself Jeffrey Epstein’s “sex slave” addressed Prince Andrew directly following hearings into the late financier’s child sex trafficking case.
“He knows exactly what he’s done, and I hope he comes clean about it,” Virginia Roberts Giuffre told reporters when asked if she had any words for the Duke of York.
Giuffre, now 35, claims Epstein ordered her to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was just 17 years old.
The Duke has denied the allegations, with Buckingham Palace officially saying he “deplores the exploitation of any human being.”
Yet lawyer Brad Edwards said there was a difference between “bland statements” and answering questions under oath.
“I have personally extended that invitation to Prince Andrew multiple times,” Edwards said. “We are ready and we have a lot of questions for him.”
Epstein was branded a “coward” who stole the innocence of young girls as dozens of women packed a courtroom in New York to share tales of how the billionaire allegedly molested them years ago.
“He is a coward,” said Courtney Wild, who has said she was sexually abused by Epstein in Florida at age 14.
“Justice has never been served in this case.”
Another one cried: “His death has robbed me of justice.”
The hearing was convened by US District Judge Richard Berman, who presided over the case after federal prosecutors moved to throw out charges against Epstein following his death.
Despite criticism from some legal experts who said the proceeding was not necessary, the Judge said the women deserved to be treated with dignity.
Judge Richard Berman described Epstein’s suicide as a “stunning turn of events.”
He said he wanted to ensure “that the victims in the case are treated fairly and with dignity.”
He did not rule on prosecutors’ motion to dismiss.
The court also heard Epstein’s death would in no way restrict civil claims being made against his $AU850 million estate.
One by one, the women — including Virginia Roberts Giuffre and others speaking publicly for the very first time — took the podium to detail the disturbing sexual abuse they say they endured after being “recruited” as young girls.
Teala Davies, taking deep breaths to steady her voice, said she was 17 when she was victimised.
She said she thought Epstein was the most powerful person in the world.
“But the end is here, and here I stand, feeling more powerful than he will ever be,” she said.
One victim, only identified as Jane Doe 5, read from a letter she wrote to the dead financier, who committed suicide in a Manhattan jail earlier this month.
“Dear Jeffrey,” she started before dissolving into tears.
“You had investigators come to my house and even to my friends house. I needed therapy several times a week. You wanted to try and blame that we were a lower class and that was the problem with girls.”
Another woman claimed to the court that Epstein raped her during a massage.
“I tried to pull away but he was already unbuttoning my shorts … I was searching for words but all I could say was, ‘No, please stop,’ … that seemed to excite him,” she said.
“I have suffered and he has won.”
The victims collectively expressed feeling tormented by Epstein’s suicide by hanging, knowing the justice they seek will never come.
“I am still mad, concerned and confused about how he committed suicide and escaped responsibility once again,” one woman said, referring to the wrist-slap plea deal he copped in Florida in 2008.
Accuser Courtney Wild slammed Epstein for robbing herself and other victims of the chance to finally face him in court.
“For that he is coward … I feel very angry, sad,” she said.
“Justice has never been served in this case.”
Some 20 spoke in person, while lawyers for others read aloud their letters.
Epstein killed himself August 10 — a day after more than 2,000 documents accusing him and others, including gal pal Ghislaine Maxwell, of sexual abuse were unsealed as part of a since-settled civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Repeatedly, the women described themselves as survivors and said they hoped coming forward publicly would encourage other women to heal
Federal prosecutors have vowed to continue their investigation into Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring and his co-conspirators.
“Investigations into these matters have been ongoing and will continue following the dismissal of this indictment here,” Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey told Judge Berman.
She said the dismissal of the case “in no way prohibits” the government from charging others in the future or filing a civil forfeiture against Epstein’s $AU850 million estate.
Five lawsuits have been filed by Epstein accusers against his estate and more are expected.
The first was by Jennifer Araoz, who says his team of female recruiters preyed on her outside her Upper East Side high school when she was a vulnerable teenager and lured her to his mansion where she was forced to perform erotic massages on him.
She is the only one of the plaintiffs to name herself publicly and she has also appeared on national television to tell her story.
“He robbed me of my dreams, of my chance to pursue a career I adored,” said Ms Araoz, who has accused Epstein of raping her in his New York mansion when she was a 15-year-old aspiring actress.
“The fact I will never have a chance to face my predator in court eats away at me,” she added.
“They let this man kill himself and kill the chance for justice for so many others.”
Sarah Ransome, who said Epstein pressured her into unwanted sex when she was in her early 20s, encouraged prosecutors in their efforts to bring others to justice, saying: “Finish what you started. … We are survivors and the pursuit of justice should not abate.”
Attorney-General William Barr has vowed that anyone who aided Epstein in sex trafficking will be pursued.
He also removed the jail warden and the acting director of the Bureau of Prisons and placed two guards who were supposed to be watching Epstein the morning he died on leave.
Epstein’s lawyers contended he could not be prosecuted because he signed a non-prosecution deal with federal authorities over a decade ago in Florida that resulted in a 13-month stint in jail on state prostitution-related charges.
Federal prosecutors in New York said that deal did not prevent the new charges.
JAIL FOOTAGE ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO USE’
Security footage from a camera outside the jail cell where billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself is almost unusable by investigators probing his death, it has emerged.
Investigators are trying to piece together how he was able to take his own life when he should have been under close watch.
The New York Post reports that three people familiar with the investigation by the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general told the Washington Post that it wasn’t immediately known why some of the footage from outside the disgraced financier’s cell is too flawed to review — or what precisely can be seen in portions that are usable.
It’s unclear whether the flaw in the footage affected only a small segment of what was recorded, or whether it’s a persistent problem at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein was housed, the paper reported.
Those who did speak to The Post about the footage wanted to remain anonymous because of the continuing investigation.
Epstein was found unconscious in his cell August 10 when staff members in the jail’s special housing unit delivered breakfast. Before that, the last time they’d checked on him was several hours earlier, according to the report.
Now, investigators are probing whether logs were falsified to indicate someone had checked on Epstein when they had not, a source told the paper.
Originally published as Epstein accusers brand the paedophile a ‘coward’ who robbed them of justice when he killed himself