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
Virginia governor signs paid leave law, first in the South – WTOP News
Virginia’s governor has signed the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Law, making the commonwealth one of more than a dozen states offering similar benefits and the first in the South to do so.
Virginia’s governor signed the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Law last month, making the commonwealth one of more than a dozen states offering similar benefits and the first in the South to do so.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger made it official, saying the law is designed to help smaller businesses retain employees who encounter difficult times.
“Whether you punch a timecard, swipe a badge or work primarily for tips, you will be able to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave to address serious health needs for you and your family,” she said.
The program works similarly to unemployment insurance. Employees and employers will pay into it through payroll deductions starting in 2028. If needed, a person can receive up to 80% of their wages for up to 12 weeks. Benefits are expected to become available in December 2028.
The law is expected to apply to most workers across the state, including many who don’t currently have paid leave through their jobs.
“Three million Virginians who previously lacked access to paid family leave will have the ability to care for a loved one, to recover from a serious illness or to welcome a new child without sacrificing their pay or without ending that time with additional credit card debt. Because no one should have to choose between spending time with their newborn and paying their bills,” Spanberger said.
It also covers caring for a sick family member and can help someone dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
Speaking at the signing, Monica Jackson, who owns a childcare center in Springfield, said the program will help small businesses compete and better support working families.
“Enabling programs like mine to remain open, to operate sustainably and to continue serving the families who rely on us for their financial stability,” Jackson said.
State Sen. Jennifer Boysko, the bill’s chief sponsor, said she worked on the policy for eight legislative sessions and is happy to see it officially become law.
“Virginia families are going to have the grace to care for themselves and their loved ones during these most serious events without going bankrupt,” Boysko said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Virginia
Virginia Supreme Court voids voter-approved redistricting referendum
On May 8, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the General Assembly violated the state constitution when it tried to redraw congressional districts, nullifying the results of the April election in which Virginians narrowly approved redistricting.
Electoral maps are usually redrawn once every 10 years, but multiple states began redrawing them early after President Donald Trump urged Republicans to redraw district lines to ensure more favorable results for the party in the November 2026 elections.
This started a nationwide political battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Texas was the first of several states to redraw districts favoring Republicans, and Virginia Democrats had proposed a constitutional amendment to allow redistricting in order to favor Democrats.
As of May 8, Republicans had initiated redistricting efforts in eight states; Democrats had led redistricting efforts in three states, including Virginia, the Washington Post reported.
In April, Virginia voters supported the redistricting amendment with 51.7% voting for it out of more than 3 million ballots cast. It could have given Democrats up to four extra seats in the U.S. House, according to the Washington Post (subscription required).
But the Virginia Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, found that there were procedural errors in how the Democratic legislature handled the process, nullifying the election results.
The Virginia Constitution says that proposed constitutional amendments must pass in the General Assembly twice before the public can vote on them: once before an election of the House of Delegates, and again after an election. According to the Virginia Supreme Court majority opinion written by Justice D. Arthur Kelsey, early voting for the general election had already been open for six weeks when the General Assembly cast its first vote on the amendment in October 2025, with more than 1.3 million voters having already cast their ballots.
“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court majority opinion stated.
The court’s ruling means the state reverts to the old district maps adopted in 2021. Based on those maps, Virginia voters elected six Democrats and five Republicans to the U.S. House.
Following the court’s ruling, some Virginia Democrats who planned to run for the U.S. House told the New York Times that they have to abandon their campaigns, while others, such as Tom Perriello who is running for the 5th District, face much more difficult campaigns.
Virginia Democrats on Friday asked the court to pause the nullification of the referendum results while they prepare their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to VPM.
If you’ve been impacted by the Virginia State Supreme Court’s decision to nullify the results of the April 21 special election on redistricting, we want to hear from you.
Send us a tip or question using our contact form. You can also call (434) 218-3649 and give us as much information as you can in your voice message. You can also reach our newsroom on Signal at (434) 218-3649 or @cvilletomorrow.05. Signal is a chat and voice app for your smartphone that has end-to-end encryption and is run by a nonprofit organization.
Take action
Get in touch if you’ve been impacted by the overturned redistricting results
While we can’t cover every story that’s important to you, we do our best to be responsive to your needs. We use tips from readers to choose which stories to cover, to incorporate information into broader reports or to help us decide how to grow Charlottesville Tomorrow. Here’s where you can tell us what you think we should be covering.
More local news
Source link
Virginia
Virginia Heads To Knoxville Regional With Third Straight NCAA Bid
-
Pennsylvania3 minutes agoPA targets AI developers for allegedly misleading users
-
Rhode Island9 minutes agoOne Big Question After RHORI Renewal
-
South-Carolina15 minutes ago
Missouri’s new US House map goes to court while Louisiana and South Carolina consider redistricting
-
South Dakota21 minutes agoSD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for May 11, 2026 – AOL
-
Tennessee27 minutes agoMemphis voters file federal lawsuit against new congressional map, claiming discrimination: ‘White control over Tennessee politics’
-
Texas33 minutes ago
Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users
-
Utah39 minutes agoData centers raise air quality and environmental concerns in Utah, doctor says
-
Vermont45 minutes ago
VT Lottery Powerball, Gimme 5 results for May 11, 2026