Jeffrey Epstein ‘raped and sexually abused women and girls more than six times when visiting the UK over a decade’
JEFFREY Epstein allegedly raped and sexually abused women and girls more than six times when visiting the UK over a decade.
Multiple women have stepped forward and shared their alleged abuse at the hands of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a new investigation.
The Channel 4 News inquiry claims evidence comes from publicly available documentation and witness accounts and interviews.
Court papers were also gathered in the investigation and the alleged offences include sexual assault and rape.
Despite the evidence, the Met Police did not carry out a full investigation, the broadcaster reports.
Prince Andrew’s alleged involvement with Maxwell and Epstein could be one of the reasons the police didn’t investigate, the news channel claims.
There are questions around whether the Metropolitan Police faces a conflict of interest due to the role of its officers serving as Royal protection officers.
Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.
US court papers alleged the Duke of York touched a woman while on his lap as she played with a Spitting Image puppet of him.
And almost 2,000 pages of a lawsuit were released in a defamation case involving Virginia Giuffre, who in 2015 claimed Prince Andrew slept with her three times, and Epstein’s ex-lover Ghislaine Maxwell.
It’s concerning, because we’ve got potentially victims here. And maybe other victims or alleged victims, who may if an investigation follows its course, be identified.
Nazir Afzal OBE,
He was accused of having a sexual encounter with her when she was 17 in London and New York and a year later at a party on Epstein’s private island in the Virgin Islands.
Another document describes an alleged sexual encounter between Ms Giuffre, now 35, and Andrew in a bathtub.
The Duke of York was pictured with his arm around the then 17-year-old’s waist at the home of Maxwell in London in 2001 – but the Prince strongly denies the claims.
All the allegations about Prince Andrew were struck from the court record in 2015.
One of the alleged victims claimed her legal team spoke directly with officers in 2016 and pleaded with them to investigate.
Channel 4 claim they have quizzed the Met on this, and the force has not provided answers and “ignored the questions”.
Nazir Afzal OBE, the former Chief Crown Prosecutor for NW England at the CPS, who led landmark cases against grooming gangs in northern England, told Channel 4 News: “From what I’ve seen, there is clearly enough evidence for the police to investigate more thoroughly than they have done up to now.
“It’s concerning, because we’ve got potentially victims here. And maybe other victims or alleged victims, who may if an investigation follows its course, be identified.”
A spokesperson for the Met Police said it would “review” the information put to them.
Channel 4 News also claimed that they went through the publicly available ‘Black Book’, which contains details of people in the UK who had dealings with Epstein, and none of the people they called said they had receieved any contact from the UK police.
FREQUENT UK VISITS
Epstein and Maxwell were frequent visitors to the UK, it was revealed that their private planes flew in and out of the country at least 51 times.
The pair were allegedly also visitors at Balmoral, Windsor and Sandringham.
In 2015, the Met Police chose not to launch a full criminal investigation into an incident that allegedly involved Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew in 2001.
The Met Police told The Sun: “The MPS is clear that it will investigate allegations where there is sufficient evidence of an offence having taken place, where it is the appropriate authority to do so and where those against whom the allegation are made are alive.
“This confirmed that the MPS had received an allegation of non-recent trafficking for sexual exploitation against a US national, Jeffrey Epstein, and a British woman in 2015 relating to events outside of the UK and an allegation of trafficking to central London in March 2001.
“Officers assessed the available evidence, interviewed the complainant and obtained early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.
They added: “However, following the legal advice, it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the UK.
NEW INVESTIGATION
“The MPS has continued to liaise and offer assistance with other law enforcement agencies who lead the investigation into matters related to Jeffrey Epstein but is unable to comment on individuals with whom they may or may not have interacted with regard any allegations of crime.”
The investigation comes after Epstein’s recruiters, lovers and pals are reportedly set to testify against Maxwell in a sex trafficking trial.
Nine weeks before the trial, prosecutors will tell the defence turn over to the defence “the identity of any unindicted co-conspirator” who they plan to call up to give evidence, DailyMail.com reported.
A filing from Maxwell, 59, which seeks to have the case dismissed says that one of her accusers was allegedly “encouraged to recruit other females to provide massages to Epstein“.
The filings seem to indicate that some of the four women who were named as “co-conspirators” when Epstein was jailed for having sex with children in 2008 could oppose Maxwell in court.
The women have been accused of being “recruiters, groomers, sexual partners and friends” to Epstein.
One is Sarah Kellen, 40, who allegedly had a rolodex of women she called to give massages at Epstein’s home in Palm Beach, Florida.
She flew hundreds of times on Epstein’s private jet, the ‘Lolita Express’.
Epstein victim Sarah Ransome claimed that “Ghislaine and Sarah Kellen showed me how to please Jeffrey”.
Kellen said last year: “I’m no monster. I’m a victim of Jeffrey Epstein. I was raped and abused weekly.”
Another is Lesley Groff, 53, who was reportedly Epstein’s executive assistant for 20 years.
Nadia Macinko, 35, allegedly had sexual encounters with underage girls, and was an on-off girlfriend of Epstein’s.
Adriana Ross, aged in her 30s, is an ex-model who allegedly helped organise massages for Epstein.
Material to be used in Maxwell’s trial will reportedly include emails sent and received by Epstein.
Tracy Schmaler, a spokeswoman for Kellen, previously said she was a victim.
Ms Schmaler said: “Sarah continues to struggle with the trauma of her experiences and has chosen not to speak publicly at this time.”
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Marcinko’s lawyer Erica Dubno, has said she was “severely traumatized” by her abuse.
Michael Bachner, a lawyer for Groff, admitted she made appointments for Epstein but “at no time did she engage in any misconduct”.
Maxwell denies the charges of trafficking a minor and conspiracy sex trafficking, among other charges.
