Virginia
Giuffre haunted by ‘hungry ghosts’ of Epstein and Maxwell, memoir says
Virginia Giuffre was still haunted by the “hungry ghosts” of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell decades after she escaped their “house of shame”, her posthumous memoir reveals.
Warning: This story contains details of child sexual abuse that readers may find distressing.
Giuffre, who died by suicide in April at her property in Neergabby, about 80 kilometres north of Perth, was a prominent accuser of Epstein.
She had long alleged she was trafficked for sex to Prince Andrew by Epstein when she was a teenager.
Her memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice is a harrowing account of a woman familiar with “monsters”, who wanted to be portrayed authentically.
In the 367-page book, Giuffre tells the story of her abuse, which allegedly began at the hands of her father and a family friend when she was young.
Her father, Sky William Roberts, denied the allegations.
Deemed “out of control” by her mother, who Giuffre alleged became “cold and remote” after the abuse by her father began, she was sent, as a teen, to a “tough-love treatment centre” until she ran away.
That led her to an “old man with a limousine” who claimed to own a modelling agency, groomed her with gifts and eventually trafficked her to a friend of his.
But it was her experiences with Epstein and Maxwell, “a molester with posh manners and an aristocratic pedigree” that continued to haunt her in vivid flashbacks.
She wrote that she still “feared them both”.
“Still I feel haunted by their hungry ghosts,” Giuffre wrote.
Excerpts of the book published by UK media last week included Giuffre’s allegations about being trafficked to Prince Andrew, who, she wrote was “entitled, as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright”.
In the memoir Giuffre claimed that just before she met Prince Andrew in March 2001, when she was 17 years old, she was told by Maxwell in a singsongy voice that “just like Cinderella, I was going to meet a handsome prince!”
Upon meeting the royal, Giuffre recalled Maxwell telling him to guess her age.
The prince, who was then 41, “guessed correctly” that she was 17, Giuffre said.
“My daughters are just a little younger than you,” she remembered him saying.
She also detailed three separate occasions when she had sex with the prince, who she called Andy, in meetings that have been reported in previous witness statements and accounts.
The royal has previously denied Guiffre’s accusations that he forced her to have sex more than two decades ago.
A settlement was reached in February 2022 in a civil case brought by Giuffre against Prince Andrew.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
On Friday, local time, Prince Andrew announced he had given up his royal titles and membership of the Order of the Garter after concluding that the “continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family”.
“I vigorously deny the accusations against me,” he added.
Amy Wallace, who ghostwrote the memoir, said that Giuffre would be pleased that Prince Andrew could no longer use titles and honours.
“I know that she would view it as a victory, that he was forced by whatever means to voluntarily give them up,” she told the BBC.
“And it’s also just a step in the right direction — you know, Virginia wanted all the men who she’d been trafficked to against her will to be held to account.
“And this is just one of the men, but he is being forced to, even though he continues to deny it.
“His life is being eroded because of his past behaviour.”
On the eve of the publication of the memoir, the British government faced calls to formally remove Prince Andrew’s titles.
It has so far resisted them, even as the book brings fresh scrutiny to the prince.
Worst thing Maxwell and Epstein did was ‘psychological’
The memoir goes into some detail about Giuffre’s early childhood and teen years before she recalls being spotted by Maxwell, whose accent reminded her of Mary Poppins, while reading a book at Mar-a-Lago one morning.
She claimed Maxwell invited her over to the “Pink House” for an interview, an offer she accepted in the belief it would lead to big things.
She was then ushered into a room asked to give a naked Epstein a massage.
Giuffre said she did so under the instruction of Maxwell, who took her clothes off and undressed Giuffre before they sexually abused her.
“Is sex all anyone will ever want from me?” Giuffre remembered thinking.
It was the beginning of an ordeal she claimed saw her suffer abuse by a web of rich and powerful people, many of whom were believed to be Epstein associates.
“In my years with them, they lent me out to scores of wealthy, powerful people,” Giuffre wrote.
“I was habitually used and humiliated and, in some instances, choked, beaten, and bloodied.
“I believed that I might die a sex slave.“
Giuffre claimed that the worst thing Epstein and Maxwell did to her “weren’t physical, but psychological”.
“From the start, they manipulated me into participating in behaviours that ate away at me, eroding my ability to comprehend reality and preventing me from defending myself,” she wrote.
In one account Giuffre recalls Epstein’s callous reaction to how terrorised she felt after being “brutalised” by a “former minister,” who choked her and left her bleeding.
“Epstein cared only about Epstein,” she wrote.
Giuffre recalls alleged ‘orgy’ with Prince Andrew
In the memoir, which is interspersed with some lighter recollections of her life with her children, Giuffre recalled the moments leading up to the infamous photo of her with Prince Andrew and Maxwell.
She said she had the thought that her mother would never forgive her if she did not pose for a picture with someone so famous.
“I remember the prince putting his arm around my waist as Maxwell grinned beside me. Epstein snapped the photo,” Giuffre wrote.
That night she attended London’s Tramp nightclub with Epstein, Maxwell and the royal, who invited her to dance and “sweated profusely”.
“When we get home, you are to do for him what you do for Jeffrey,” Giuffre wrote that Maxwell told her in the car on the way to her place.
Back at the house, Maxwell and Epstein went upstairs, “signalling it was time that I take care of the prince”.
Giuffre wrote the pair had sex.
“He was friendly enough, but still entitled — as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright,” she wrote.
The next morning, Maxwell told her: “You did well. The prince had fun.”
Giuffre claimed she had sex with Andrew on two other occasions — at the townhouse in New York and on Epstein’s island in an “orgy” with “approximately eight other young girls”.
“The other girls all appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn’t really speak English,” she wrote.
“Epstein laughed about how they couldn’t really communicate, saying they are the easiest girls to get along with.“
Years later, Giuffre recalled stumbling upon a photo of Epstein walking in New York’s Central Park with Prince Andrew.
The picture, taken by former British tabloid News of the World, was published in February 2011.
Giuffre wrote that by then “everyone knew that Epstein, though he’d gotten off with a light sentence, was a convicted sex offender”.
In 2008 Epstein was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a person under the age of 18.
“I was of course revolted to see two of my abusers together, out for a stroll,” Giuffre wrote.
“But mostly I was amazed that a member of the Royal Family would be stupid enough to appear in public with Epstein.“
She also touched on the confidential settlement she reached with Prince Andrew in 2022, after she had filed a lawsuit against him in New York State.
She had pushed ahead with it in the hope he gave “a general acknowledgement of what I’d been through”.
She claimed that after “casting doubt on my credibility for so long”, Prince Andrew’s team “had even gone so far as to try to hire internet trolls to hassle me”.
“The Duke of York owed me a meaningful apology as well,” she wrote.
Allegations of abuse at home
In the memoir, there are allegations that Giuffre was sexually abused by her father.
Giuffre grew up in Florida after she was born in 1983 and wrote that she had a modest early childhood with her mother and father, until it took a turn.
Giuffre died in April at her property in Neergabby. (Reuters: Shannon Stapleton)
“When I began working with a collaborator on this book, I had never said publicly that my father molested me and then gave me to another man to molest,” she wrote.
Giuffre alleged the abuse began when her father, who she said called her his “favourite”, began getting her ready for bed.
She accused him of touching her inappropriately and claimed he told her this was his way of giving her “extra love”.
In an effort to stop the abuse from happening, Giuffre wrote that she told her father she could bathe herself and began hiding under the bed to avoid his attention.
The abuse got worse when she was introduced to “Forrest”, a friend of her father’s, who she said also assaulted her.
Mr Roberts denied the allegations in a note sent to the book’s ghostwriter.
“Just to straighten this out, I never abused my daughter and didn’t know that Forrest did that either,” he said, according to the book.
“If I had known about that, I would have been very angry and taken care of the situation.”
Before she died, Giuffre told Wallace it was her “heartfelt wish” that the memoir be released “regardless” of her circumstances.
“Two things made Virginia’s memoir different,” Wallace notes in the book.
“First, the stories she needed to share were devastating beyond measure for her to tell.
“Second, several of the characters in these stories were among the wealthiest and most powerful in the world.“
After Guiffre’s death earlier this year, Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for dozens of Epstein abuse survivors, described her as “an incredible champion for other victims”.
Those that knew Guiffre remembered her as “deeply loving, wise, and funny”.
Virginia
Veteran environmental legislator David Bulova selected as Virginia’s next resources secretary
Virginia
Virginia Lottery urges adults to ‘Scratch the Idea’ of gifting lottery tickets to minors
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – The Virginia Lottery and the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling are urging adults to gift responsibly this holiday season, warning that giving lottery tickets to anyone under 18 can normalize gambling and increase the risk of addiction.
The Virginia Lottery and the council have partnered for years to raise awareness about the risks of youth gambling and are encouraging adults to choose age-appropriate gifts this holiday season.
The groups released a public service announcement this week called “Scratchers for Kids?—Scratch That Idea” as part of a seasonal campaign on social media and other outlets.
The PSA’s message is direct: Don’t give children scratch-off tickets or other lottery products as gifts.
“Just as you wouldn’t give a child alcohol at Christmas, don’t give them a lottery ticket,” said Dr. Carolyn Hawley, president of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling.
Officials said well-meaning adults sometimes slip lottery tickets into stockings or hand them out as small gifts, but this practice is dangerous and inappropriate.
They warned it may raise the likelihood that a child will develop gambling problems later in life.
“We want to discourage participating in gambling for as long as possible. We want to keep it safe, we want to keep it fun and to do so, let’s delay early onset for children,” Hawley said.
Hawley said the younger someone starts gambling — whether with a scratch-off ticket or on sports-betting websites — the greater the chances of developing a problem.
She and other officials noted a recent uptick in younger people seeking help and calling hotlines for gambling-related issues.
“We know they didn’t start gambling between 18 to 24; they started much earlier,” Hawley said.
Officials also noted that giving lottery tickets to minors is illegal.
They said their hope is that parents and guardians will set positive examples and model healthy behavior.
“They’re watching and they’re seeing, even if you’re not aware that that’s happening. So pay attention, recognize and understand the risks that can happen and model good behavior for your children,” Hawley said.
The Virginia Lottery and the council have partnered for years to raise awareness about the risks of youth gambling and are encouraging adults to choose age-appropriate gifts this holiday season.
Copyright 2025 WWBT. All rights reserved.
Virginia
Snow totals vary across Central Virginia
CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) – Snow totals varied significantly across Central Virginia on Tuesday, with some areas receiving upwards of 6 inches while others got about an inch.
Parts of Petersburg received upwards of 6 inches of snow, while northern parts like Caroline County only got about an inch. Within a 50-mile radius of Richmond, there was about a 5-inch difference in the amount of snow people received.
In Chesterfield County, residents were cleaning snow off their cars Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service snowfall report shows some parts of the county received nearly five inches of snow.
Donnie Clinton was among many people on the roads during the snowfall Monday night.
“I had to be out on the roads last night and it was terrible. And I have a four-by-four truck and so it’s easy to manage, but there were still patches of slush and ice. And so when I was braking, it was really hard to feel safe. So I was kind of scared for that. But waking up this morning going onto the turnpike, it was all fine,” Clinton said.
Clinton said he was surprised by the differences in snow amounts between counties in the area. He was also surprised by how quickly school was cancelled.
“Yeah, I’m actually so I work with youth groups like so middle school through high schoolers. And they told me, schools canceled already tomorrow. I grew up in rural Ohio, where it’s kind of like hell or high water. There’s going to be school tomorrow, and you’re going to go, and it’s just going to have to be okay,” Clinton said.
12 On Your Side Meteorologist Andrew Freiden said such a large range of snow totals is typical for the area.
“So, there was a sweet spot south and west of Richmond where you had a combination of the moisture and the cold air, cold dry air. But the dry air, you know, was too strong on northern counties and northern neighborhoods to support any snow,” Freiden said.
Some places got nothing and areas to the south got a lot more.
“So, we had a battle of really cold, dry air. It is frigid over the Northeast right now. And that cold, dry air was what allowed us to turn a pretty small system, less than 1/2 an inch of liquid into a decent sized snow here in central Virginia,” Freiden explained.
He also explained how over the last five years, Central Virginia hasn’t really had the cold air necessary to create snow like what we’ve experienced this past week.
Copyright 2025 WWBT. All rights reserved.
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