NBC Virginia Roberts Giuffre
Virginia Roberts Giuffre is speaking out as a victim in the Jeffrey Epstein case for the first time on national TV Friday night. For NBC’s Dateline special, Giuffre and five other accusers will sit down with Savannah Guthrie for a no-holds barred conversation about their reported sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein, alleged “madame” Ghislaine Maxwell, and Prince Andrew of Britain.
More than 20 woman testified in Epstein’s case, a hearing which took place after the billionaire financier committed suicide at age 66 while being held in federal prison on August 10. Giuffre, 36, is now detailing her harrowing experience of being a sex slave, in particular, her alleged forced sexual encounters with Prince Andrew.
While the Duke of York has vehemently denied all accusations, calling them “false and without foundation,” Giuffre acknowledges his response in her interview with NBC. “He denies that it ever happened, and he’s going to keep denying that it ever happened. But he knows the truth, and I know the truth.”
During the Dateline special, Giuffre will be joined by five other alleged Epstein victims: Jennifer Araoz, Marijke Chartouni, Chauntae Davies, Anouska De Georgiou and Rachel Benavidez, all of whom shared their stories of abuse at the hearing on August 27.
Here’s what you need to know about Virginia Roberts Giuffre….
1. She Has Three Children with Husband Robert Giuffre/h2>
Virginia Roberts Giuffre
The Roberts family, which includes her father Sky, and mother Lynn, who was a banker, lived in Sacramento, California before moving to Loxahatchee in Palm Beach County, Florida, when Virginia was just four years old. Her father worked at Mar-a-Lago, which is how she got her first job at Donald Trump’s Florida Golf Club.
During a trip to Thailand, where Epstein had her flown to take a massage class, she met her husband, Australian martial arts expert Robert. After 10 days, they eloped and she moved to live with in Australia. Mr. Giuffre has stood by his wife’s side through her testimony against Prince Andrew, saying that he was “an abuser, and a participant.” The couple share three children together, and relocated back to the states in 2015.
2. Giuffre Alleges She was 17 when Prince Andrew Sexually Abused Her for the First Time
Virginia Roberts and Prince Andrew
Giuffre alleged she was first recruited to be a sex slave by Epstein at 15-years-old while she was an employee at Mar-a-Lago. Two years later in 2001, she allegedly met Prince Andrew, and was forced to sleep with on three different occasions, including the bathroom and bedroom of his townhome in London. The Duke of York is the third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
In the Dateline interview Roberts said, “The first time in London, I was so young. Ghislaine woke me up in the morning and she said, “you’re gonna meet a prince today.” I didn’t know at that point that I was going to be trafficked to that prince. And then that night Prince Andrew came to her house in London. And we went out to club Tramp. Prince Andrew got me alcohol. It was in the VIP section. I’m pretty sure it was vodka. Prince Andrew was like, ‘Let’s dance together.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ And we leave club Tramp. And I hop in the car with Ghislaine and Jeffrey. And Ghislaine said, ‘He’s coming back to the house. And I want you to do for him what you do for Epstein.’ I couldn’t believe it.”
Prince Andrew The Duke of York
“He wasn’t rude or anything about it,” Roberts told Guthrie. “He said, you know, ‘Thank you,’ and some kind of soft sentiments like that, and left. I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that even royalty were involved.”
3. Giuffre’s Father Sky Roberts Staunchly Defended His Daughter
Giuffre’s father Sky Roberts, a retired engineer who resides in Summerville, Florida, did not mince words when speaking to the Daily Mail following Epstein’s suicide. Roberts, 63, said the world is now a “better place” and that “Jeffrey is evil and got what was coming to him. He is not a good guy. It is an evil thing for a man to do that to a woman.”
Roberts is also gunning for the FBI to get Maxwell. He said, “She is really to blame too. She was the only one who came to the club and met these young girls. The authorities need to hunt her down and she needs to face justice. Maxwell knows it all. She is the key to finding everything out… I know Jeffrey was a big part of it because he was the money guy. But Maxwell had money too. She was recruiting and bringing them there.”
As for whether or not he believes his daughter’s accusations, there is not a doubt in his mind. “I have no reason to doubt anything that Virginia has said. She has no reason to lie and she has never lied to me. She is a very good and honest person.”
4. The Statue of Limitations Has Expired for Giuffre
Virginia Roberts
Judge Richard Berman said that even though the federal indictment had to be dropped after Epstein’s death, the investigations into co-conspirators would continue. And while Giuffre can no longer pursue charges her accusers due to the statute of limitations, she can sue for libel.
Maxwell was sued for slander by Giuffre after the heiress called her a liar. Giuffre says she was 15 when Maxwell set her up with Epstein in 1999, which Maxwell denied. In 2015, Giuffre’s lawsuit charged that Maxwell “undertook a concerted and malicious campaign to discredit [Roberts] and to so damage her reputation that [Roberts]’ factual reporting of what had happened to her would not be credited,” Page Six reported. By 2017, a settlement was negotiated and although the terms have not been made public, it’s been reported Maxwell settled with Giuffre.
“My lawyers said the way to get Ghislaine Maxwell held accountable, the way to get Jeffrey Epstein held accountable, is through them saying I’m a liar, which I’m not,” Giuffre said
5. Giuffre Is Suing Epstein’s Former Lawyer Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz
The 36-year-old mother of two also filed a defamation lawsuit in April against Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who was one of the attorneys who helped Epstein skate from being hit with federal charges in his 2005 criminal probe. She alleges that Dershowitz one of the powerful men Epstein made her have sex with.
However, Dershowitz, 80, told the Sunday Times that she’s “serial liar” and would be “happy to go to trial. I think I have a slam-dunk case… I have never touched another woman. I have had and still have a fantastic marriage. Fifty years at Harvard, with many research assistants who were young women, I have never been accused of anything improper.”
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