Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, dies at 41

By Jennifer Peltz and Hallie Golden Associated Press The woman who accused Britain s Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by financier Jeffrey Epstein has died She was Virginia Giuffre died by suicide Friday at her farm in Western Australia her publicist proven Deeply loving wise and funny she was a beacon to other survivors and casualties publicist Dini von Mueffling mentioned in a declaration She adored her children and multiple animals She was consistently more concerned with me than with herself I will miss her beyond words It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her EDITOR S NOTE This story includes discussion of suicide If you or someone you know necessities help the national suicide and emergency lifeline in Australia is available by calling In the U S it is available by calling or texting There is also an online chat at lifeline org The American-born Giuffre who lived in Australia for years became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein s prolonged downfall The wealthy well-connected New York money manager killed himself in August while awaiting trial on U S federal sex trafficking charges involving dozens of teenage girls and young women a few as young as The charges came years after police in Palm Beach Florida first began examining claims that he sexually abused underage girls who were hired to give him massages Giuffre came forward publicly after the initial inquiry ended in an -month Florida jail term for Epstein who made a secret deal to avoid federal prosecution by pleading guilty instead to relatively minor state-level charges of soliciting prostitution He was circulated in In subsequent lawsuits Giuffre commented she was a teenage spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago President Donald Trump s Palm Beach club when she was approached in by Epstein s girlfriend and later employee Ghislaine Maxwell Giuffre disclosed Maxwell hired her as a masseuse for Epstein but the couple effectively made her a sexual servant pressuring her into gratifying not only Epstein but his friends and associates Giuffre she was flown around the world for assignations with men including Prince Andrew while she was and The men denied it and assailed Giuffre s credibility She acknowledged changing various key details of her account including the age at which she first met Epstein But a multitude of parts of her story were supported by documents witness testimony and photos including one of her and Andrew with his his arm around her bare midriff in Maxwell s London townhouse Giuffre revealed in one of her lawsuits that she had sex with the royal three times in London during her trip at Epstein s New York mansion when she was and in the Virgin Islands when she was Ghislaine revealed I want you to do for him what you do for Epstein ' Giuffre notified NBC News Dateline in September Andrew categorically rejected Giuffre s assertions and declared he didn t recall having met her His denials blew up in his face during a November BBC interview Viewers saw a prince who proffered curious rebuttals such as disputing Giuffre s recollection of sweaty dancing by saying he was medically incapable of perspiring and demonstrated no empathy for the women who revealed Epstein abused them Within days of the interview Andrew stepped down from his royal duties He settled with Giuffre in for an undisclosed sum agreeing to make a substantial donation to her survivors organization A announcement filed in court declared that the prince acknowledged Epstein was a sex trafficker and Giuffre an established victim of abuse She also filed and in at least specific cases settled lawsuits against Epstein and others connected to him In one development she dropped her insists against a prominent U S attorney saying she might have erred in identifying him as one of the men to whom Epstein supplied her Epstein s suicide put an end to his accusers hopes of holding him criminally accountable Maxwell was convicted in on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to years in prison She declared announced she wasn t to blame for Epstein s abuse Prosecutors elected not to include Giuffre s accusations in the Maxwell event but Giuffre later recounted the court that the British socialite had opened the door to hell Giuffre born Virginia Roberts described interviewers that her childhood was shattered when she was sexually abused as a grade-schooler by a man her family knew She later ran away from home and endured more abuse she reported She mentioned she met her now-husband in while taking massage training in Thailand at Epstein s behest She married moved to Australia and had a family Giuffre founded an advocacy charity SOAR in Giuffre was hospitalized after a serious accident her publicist stated last month She didn t answer questions about the date location nature or other specifics of the accident and about the accuracy of an Instagram post that appeared to come from Giuffre on Sunday The post revealed she had been in a car that was hit by a school bus and her prognosis was dire The AP does not identify people who say they were casualties of sexual assault unless they have come forward publicly