Ghislaine Maxwell said Paris Hilton was ‘perfect’ for Jeffrey Epstein
Accused sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly trawled art galleries in search of vulnerable young women for billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
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Ghislaine Maxwell stalked high-end art galleries to find vulnerable girls for Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend has claimed.
The disgraced British socialite would allegedly trawl swanky events in the UK and the US to find so-called ‘gallerinas’ to hook up with the paedophile tycoon.
“She would go to every art gallery opening and was a familiar presence at auctions and parties at Christie’s and Sotheby’s,” according to a friend’s report in The Sun.
“The art world is full of pretty young girls and many of them are young and broke.
“You’d see her everywhere, often with beautiful blonde girls in tow.”
Maria Farmer – one of Epstein’s victims – claims she was “picked up” by Epstein and Maxwell at a party to mark her graduation from the New York Academy of Art in 1995.
Epstein is also believed to have met his “secret girlfriend” Shelley Lewis while she was working at Christie’s in New York in the 1990s.
MAXWELL WANTED TO ‘RECRUIT’ PARIS HILTON
Ghislaine Maxwell wanted to recruit Paris Hilton for Jeffrey Epstein upon seeing her for the first time, a former friend of hers has claimed.
Christopher Mason claimed she allegedly stopped in her tracks and said “oh my God” when she saw Hilton, then 19 years old, at a party in the early 2000s, reports The Sun.
Maxwell saw the young socialite at a party and was stunned by her good looks, prompting her to tell a friend Hilton would be “perfect for Jeffrey,” according to a report in the Daily Mail.
Mason recalled the moment in an upcoming docuseries Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, which is set to air in the US on Sunday (local time).
“A friend of mine was at a party and Ghislaine said, ‘’Oh my god, who is that?’’ and was looking at this pretty, younger teenage girl,” he said.
“She said: ‘Do you know her?’
“My friend said: ‘Yeah, she’s called Paris Hilton,’ and Ghislaine said: ‘Ohhhh she’d be perfect for Jeffrey. Can you introduce us?’”
The British journalist, who has known Maxwell since the 1980s, didn’t give a date for the encounter.
But it appears to have taken place around the year 2000, when Hilton was signed to Donald Trump’s Modelling agency, T Management, reports The Sun.
The documentary features a photo of Hilton and Mr Trump chatting at the Anand Jon Fashion show in New York on September 18, 2000.
Maxwell, wearing sunglasses and a broad grin, can be seen standing to the left of Hilton.
In the documentary, Mason said people were “puzzled” by Maxwell and Epstein’s relationship.
The pair met in the early 1990s when she moved to New York City following the death of her father and the two dated shortly after.
“The rumours were Ghislaine was scouring New York finding younger girls to go on dates with Jeffrey,” Mason said.
“At the time it seemed a bit naughty.”
It’s unclear if Maxwell actually attempted to set up a date between Hilton and the paedophile financier.
Hilton has yet to comment on the claims.
MAXWELL BOASTED OF SEX WITH STAR
It also emerged that Maxwell boasted about performing an alleged sex act on Hollywood superstar George Clooney and “giggled like a schoolgirl”, alleged victim of Epstein and Maxwell, Virginia Roberts Giuffre has claimed.
The sensational claims were made in the manuscript of a book by Ms Giuffre, a victim of alleged abuse carried out by Maxwell and paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, that has been unsealed along with other court documents by a New York judge.
There is no suggestion of any involvement by Clooney in underage sex, Epstein’s crimes, or other wrongdoing of any kind.
Ms Giuffre spent around two years working for Epstein as a travelling masseuse after being approached by Maxwell and then introduced to Epstein in the summer of 2000, The Sun reports.
Maxwell, a one-time girlfriend of Epstein, is currently awaiting trial on charges of enticement of minors, sex trafficking of children, and perjury over her alleged involvement in Epstein’s crimes, though she denies wrongdoing.
In the book, Ms Giuffre recalls that during the time she spent with the pair, Maxwell “loved to brag about her rendezvous with various lovers”.
“Once she came back giddy as a schoolgirl with an explosion of news, with all the build up and excitement in her voice you’d think she was the next crown princess,” Ms Giuffre writes.
“But she had given George Cooney a b*****b in the bathroom at some random event.
“She never let that one down.”
It is not clear when the alleged incident purportedly occurred.
The 139-page exposé, titled The Billionaire Playboy’s Club, was originally submitted to the court as part of a defamation case brought by Ms Giuffre against Maxwell in 2015.
The case was settled in 2017 before it reached trial but, while more than 2000 pages of evidence were released, around 900 court filings remained under seal or redacted.
Ms Giuffre had requested the release of some of the documents for use in separate civil lawsuits.
Maxwell fought the release of five documents in particular on the grounds they contained “extremely personal” information.
Maxwell is being held in New York after being denied bail following her arrest at the start of last month.
‘LUCKY ESCAPE’ FROM EPSTEIN FOR PRINCESS DIANA BRIDESMAID
The youngest bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Diana has said she made a “lucky” escape after being a guest on Jeffrey Epstein’s “paedo island”.
Clemmie Hambro took two flights on the disgraced paedophile’s jet – but claimed she did not suffer or witness any abuse at the hands of the financier.
Ms Hambro was left “completely horrified” by the revelations of Epstein’s conduct, and said her “heart breaks for all the survivors”.
Clemmie Hambro was Princess Diana’s youngest bridesmaid at her wedding with Prince Charles in July 1981.
Flight logs reportedly show that she flew on Epstein’s jet after visiting his ranch in New Mexico and his Little St James island, known to locals as “Paedo island”.
Epstein’s island of Little St James lies between St Thomas and St John, two of the largest islands of the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.
The 20ha island was bought by the financier in 1998 for an estimated $A11 million and was owned by him until his death in 2019.
Ms Hambro’s first flight, from Epstein’s “New Zorro” ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico to Teterboro airport in New York, was taken on February 21, 1999 with two other women as well as Epstein himself, The Sun reports.
She said the New Mexico trip was a “work trip” to help the financier decide which art to buy for the ranch.
The second trip, meanwhile, took place on March 21 when she flew from St Thomas — used by Epstein to reach Little St James island — to Teterboro airport.
She said this trip was a “personal invitation”, adding that she “didn’t know anyone there and “didn’t really enjoy myself”.
According to the records, Epstein was present on both flights.
Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is awaiting trial for allegedly aiding Epstein’s abuse, was also present for one of the trips.
The now married mum-of-four was a 23-year old employee at Christie’s auction house in New York when she made the trips in 1999.
A statement from Ms Hambro read: “The first flight was a work trip with female colleagues to look at Epstein’s new home in Santa Fe to discuss what art he was going to buy.
“The second trip, to Little St James, was a personal invitation, which I thought would be fun to accept, but I didn’t know anyone there, didn’t really enjoy myself, and never went back. My heart breaks for all the survivors, now I know what happened on that island.
“In the course of those two trips, I was not abused, nor did I see anyone abused, or anything untoward happen, with minors or otherwise. I have been completely horrified about the revelations of his conduct since then. I was clearly very lucky, my heart goes out to those who were abused by him, and I trust they get the justice they so deserve.”
She added: “I was young and naive, and could not conceive of what was to unfold.”
There is no suggestion she was involved in any wrongdoing.
Epstein bought the island of Little St James more than two decades ago, transforming it into a high-security private oasis.
Court papers allege that “prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well known prime minister and other world leaders” have visited the island before.
TRUMP SAYS EPSTEIN ‘MIGHT HAVE BEEN MURDERED’
US President Donald Trump has suggested billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein might have been murdered in jail as he awaited trial on further sex charges.
Quizzed by Australian journalist Jonathan Swan on a US news website about why he wished Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell well last month, Mr Trump said he didn’t wish “anything bad for her”.
“Her friend or boyfriend, was either killed or committed suicide inside jail,” Mr Trump said.
“She’s now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well. Good luck! Let them try to prove that someone was guilty.
“Her boyfriend died in jail and people are still trying to figure out, how did it happen? Was it suicide or was he killed? And I do wish her well, I’m not looking for anything bad for her. I’m not looking (for anything) bad for anybody. All it is, her boyfriend died, he died in jail. Was he killed in jail, was it suicide? I do, I wish her well.”
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
She is being held in a jail in New York City awaiting her trial after she was denied bail.
In August last year, the New York medical examiners office ruled Epstein’s death a suicide. A forensic pathologist later hired by Epstein’s brother disputed the decision. Dr Michael Baden presented findings which he claimed showed that Epstein may have been strangled.
Last week, unsealed court documents revealed further details of Epstein and Maxwell’s alleged crimes. The court papers related to a now-settled 2015 civil litigation brought against Ms Maxwell by Australian-based Virginia Roberts Guiffre, 36.
Ms Giuffre has accused both Epstein and Maxwell of abusing her.
In the papers, Ms Guiffre also alleges that Epstein tried to gather incriminating material against Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, by forcing an underage girl to have sex with him.
A court document claims Epstein instructed the girl, referred to as Jane Doe #3, but known to be Virginia Roberts Giuffre, to “give the prince whatever he demanded and report back to him on the details of the sexual abuse”.
Prince Andrew denies the allegations. Ms Guiffre has previously claimed that she was forced to sleep with a host of powerful men.
ANDREW’S ‘STAMP OF APPROVAL’ PAVED WAY FOR GHISLAINE
Meanwhile, reports emerged that Prince Andrew helped Maxwell hustle her way into New York high society by giving her the “stamp of approval,” according to former friends.
Helen Kirwan-Taylor, who said she was in Maxwell’s “little black book”, said that her royal connection gave her immediate entree to New York’s elite circles.
Writing in The Telegraph, family friend Ms Kirwan-Taylor said that the rest of the British socialite’s family had “hid away in shame” after the 1991 death of her father, newspaper baron Robert Maxwell, who was accused of stealing millions from his employees’ superannuations.
But as the “Maxwell empire crumbled,” Ghislaine Maxwell “teleported herself to New York City” — and was “right in the middle of the action” with the “most connected people in Manhattan.”
“Not only was she mixing with the very rich, but she seemed to be right in the middle of the action,” recalled Ms Kirwan-Taylor, who was listed in Epstein’s infamous black book along with her husband and father-in-law.
Ms Kirwan-Taylor says she made it into the contacts book Ms Maxwell curated for Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous paedophile, after catching the socialite’s attention while working as an assistant producer at 60 Minutes, a role that granted her access to “presidents and prime ministers”.
The list also reportedly included Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Naomi Campbell and Tony Blair.
“The question is, how did someone whose father had robbed pensioners and who died in mysterious circumstances, manage to break into the wealthiest circles of Manhattan?”
According to the New York Post, it all came down to her well-known close ties to royalty and the Duke of York, one of Maxwell’s Manhattan society friends told the paper.
“Ghislaine came over with the stamp of approval from Prince Andrew. The thinking was if she hangs out with him, she must be OK,” the insider said.
“You only really need one person in society to vouch for you and the rest follow.”
But while Maxwell found herself “directing traffic” as a major player in high society, “the old rumours of New York money didn’t give Epstein the time of day,” Kirwan-Taylor insisted.
“There were rumours from the start,” she wrote of his sexual perversions that later saw him jailed for underage sex offences.
Maxwell is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn on charges of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse young women.
Ms Kirwan-Taylor, whose family’s friendships with Maxwell ended in the 1980s, feels certain there is still more to come in her former friend’s story.
“I suspect Ghislaine, raised by one depraved fraudster and romantically entangled with another, has a trick or two up her sleeve, yet,” she wrote.