Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused Britain’s Prince Andrew of sexual abuse in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal, has tragically passed away at the age of 41. Giuffre died by suicide on Friday at her farm in Western Australia, her publicist confirmed.

Giuffre’s family has released a heartfelt statement remembering her as “a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking.” They described her as a beacon of hope for many survivors and expressed how deeply she will be missed. “Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright,” they said. “She will be missed beyond measure.”

Her publicist, Dini von Mueffling, also paid tribute to her, calling her “deeply loving, wise, and funny” and highlighting her devotion to her children and animals. “I will miss her beyond words,” von Mueffling said. “It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”

Giuffre, born Virginia Roberts in the U.S., had lived in Australia for years and became a prominent advocate for sex trafficking survivors. She gained international attention for her role in the downfall of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of trafficking and abusing young women and girls. Epstein’s death in 2019 while awaiting trial left many of his accusers without the justice they sought.

Giuffre came forward publicly after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. She accused Epstein and his associates of exploiting her as a teenager. Giuffre claimed that in the early 2000s, she was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate, to be a masseuse for Epstein, but soon found herself forced into sexual servitude. She alleged that she was flown around the world to have sex with powerful men, including Prince Andrew, when she was just 17 and 18 years old.

Despite Prince Andrew’s denials, including his infamous 2019 BBC interview, where he gave odd and unconvincing explanations for the accusations, Giuffre’s claims were supported by various documents and testimonies. A notable piece of evidence was a photograph showing Prince Andrew with his arm around Giuffre’s bare midriff, taken in Maxwell’s London townhouse.

In 2022, Prince Andrew reached a financial settlement with Giuffre, acknowledging Epstein’s role as a sex trafficker and acknowledging Giuffre as a victim of abuse. While Giuffre also filed lawsuits against other individuals connected to Epstein, she later dropped claims against one U.S. attorney, acknowledging she may have been mistaken in identifying him.

Epstein’s death in 2019 ended any hopes of criminal accountability for him, but Maxwell’s 2021 conviction for sex trafficking and conspiracy brought some justice to the survivors. Though Giuffre’s accusations were not part of Maxwell’s trial, Giuffre had previously stated that Maxwell had “opened the door to hell” for her.

Giuffre’s personal story was one of resilience. She spoke openly about her traumatic childhood, which included sexual abuse by a family acquaintance. She ran away from home and endured more abuse before meeting her husband while training as a massage therapist in Thailand. She later married, moved to Australia, and founded SOAR, an advocacy charity for survivors of sexual trafficking, in 2015.

Giuffre’s passing comes shortly after a serious accident, though details of the incident were not disclosed. She is survived by her three children, described by her family as the “light of her life.”

Attorney Sigrid McCawley, who represented Giuffre, expressed her grief, saying, “Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring. The world has lost an amazing human being today. Rest in peace, my sweet angel.”

Giuffre’s legacy as a powerful advocate for justice and survivors of sexual abuse will live on, even in the face of her untimely death. Her bravery in confronting one of the world’s most powerful networks of abuse will never be forgotten.

Source: AP News – Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain’s Prince Andrew in Epstein sex trafficking scandal, has died

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Prince Harry’s lengthy legal battle with Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group reached an unexpected conclusion on Wednesday, with the Duke of Sussex settling his case just before his trial was set to begin. The lawsuit, filed against News Group Newspapers (NGN) – the publisher behind The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World – accused the tabloids of unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking and surveillance, between 1996 and 2011.

At a London High Court hearing, David Sherborne, Prince Harry’s barrister, announced that NGN had issued a “full and unequivocal apology” to the duke. The apology acknowledged the serious intrusion into Prince Harry’s private life during the aforementioned years and the unlawful activities conducted by private investigators hired by The Sun. NGN also apologized for the phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information carried out by the journalists and private investigators at News of the World, another publication under the NGN umbrella.

Sherborne read the full apology on behalf of NGN, which also expressed regret for the impact the coverage had on Prince Harry’s life and relationships, as well as on his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. “We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships, and family,” Sherborne said. NGN further agreed to pay Prince Harry substantial damages as part of the settlement. They also acknowledged that their response to the 2006 arrests related to phone hacking was regrettable, though without admitting any illegality.

Alongside Prince Harry, former Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson, who had also filed a claim, settled his own case. Watson, who was targeted between 2009 and 2011, alleged unlawful information gathering and phone hacking during his investigation into the Murdoch newspapers. His investigation played a key role in the 2011 phone hacking scandal, which led to the closure of News of the World and Murdoch’s public apology for the scandal.

Sherborne confirmed that NGN also apologized to Watson for the “unwarranted intrusion” into his private life during his time in government, specifically during the 2009-2011 period.

The legal proceedings at the London High Court were initially scheduled to start on Tuesday, but were delayed multiple times after requests from both sides’ legal teams.

This surprising settlement brings an end to a chapter of legal actions and media scrutiny for the Duke of Sussex, who has long been outspoken about the media’s treatment of him and his family.

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ABC News has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit by donating $15 million to support the construction of Donald Trump’s presidential library. The settlement stems from an inaccurate claim made by anchor George Stephanopoulos during a March 10 segment of This Week, where he falsely stated that Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.

As part of the settlement, ABC News published an editor’s note on its website, expressing regret for Stephanopoulos’ statements. The network will also pay $1 million in legal fees to Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito.

The $15 million contribution is designated as a “charitable donation” and will support a non-profit tied to Trump’s yet-to-be-built presidential library. “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” said ABC News spokesperson Jeannie Kedas.

Trump’s spokesperson declined to comment.

The agreement was signed on Friday, the same day a Florida federal judge had ordered Trump and Stephanopoulos to give separate depositions. The settlement means no testimony is required.

ABC is required to transfer the $15 million donation to an escrow account managed by Brito’s law firm within 10 days, along with payment of Brito’s legal fees.

Although significant, ABC’s contribution is just a small fraction of the total cost of Trump’s presidential library. By comparison, Barack Obama’s library in Chicago was projected to cost $830 million as of 2021.

Trump filed the lawsuit after ABC aired the segment, during which Stephanopoulos incorrectly claimed Trump had been “found liable for rape” and for “defaming the victim of that rape.” Neither of Carroll’s civil lawsuits found that Trump raped her, as defined under New York law.

In the first trial, Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, leading to a $5 million judgment. A second trial in January 2024 resulted in an additional $83.3 million judgment for defamation.

Trump is appealing both verdicts. Carroll, a former advice columnist, publicly accused Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury Manhattan department store. Trump has denied the allegation, claiming he did not know Carroll and had never encountered her at the store.

After Trump insulted her, calling her a “nut job” and accusing her of fabricating the rape claim to sell her memoir, Carroll filed a defamation lawsuit seeking damages and a retraction of Trump’s defamatory denials.

In April 2023, Carroll testified, saying: “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back.”

Carroll described the alleged assault, claiming Trump pushed her against a dressing room wall, kissed her, and sexually assaulted her while she struggled. She said she managed to escape.

In upholding the $5 million judgment in the first trial, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan explained that the jury had found Trump guilty of sexual abuse but did not meet the narrow legal definition of rape under New York law, which requires vaginal penetration by a penis. He clarified that the jury’s verdict did not negate that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll, as commonly understood by the public.

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