Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June for sex trafficking minors, said in an interview aired Monday she wished she “never met” Jeffrey Epstein, who she believes “was murdered.”
• Also read: Prince Andrew’s photo with a minor is “a fake,” says Ghislaine Maxwell
The former British socialite was convicted in New York in June of sex trafficking minors on behalf of the late American financier accused of sexually exploiting dozens of minors.
“I really wish I had never met him,” she said of her former companion in the interview, which she gave to British broadcaster TalkTV from prison in the United States.
“Clearly (…) the fact that I work with him and spend time with him and that I know him has ruined my life and hurt a lot of people who are dear to me and love me,” he said. she claimed.
She stressed that she didn’t “know” Epstein was “that horrible,” although it’s “obviously natural now, looking back.”
The American financier, who is accused of bringing underage girls into his homes “to engage in sexual acts with him” between at least 2002 and 2005, was found hanged in his cell on August 10, 2019.
If the autopsy confirms suicide by hanging, Ms Maxwell says she is convinced “he was murdered”.
Excerpts from the interview had already been published on Sunday and Ms Maxwell defended Prince Andrew, saying a photo showing King Charles III’s brother with a young girl who later accused him of sexual assault was “a fake”.
American Virginia Giuffre, now 39, accused the prince of sexually assaulting her three times in 2001 when she was 17. She claimed to have met him through Epstein.
Andrew, friend of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, struck an amicable settlement with her in February 2022, paying millions of dollars, thereby avoiding a civil lawsuit in New York that would have been deeply embarrassing for the British royal family.
However, the 62-year-old prince, who fell out of favor following these allegations, has consistently denied the allegations. According to British newspapers, he is now examining legal options to try to end the agreement with Virginia Giuffre.