Remembering Virginia Giuffre

Daughter, Sister, Mother, Survivor, and Fierce Advocate

Virginia Roberts Giuffre – mother of Christian, Noah, and Emily – would have turned 42 today, had she not been abused, battered, and broken by the monsters who preyed upon her and continued haunting her in her nightmares.

When we contemplate the victims of sex traffickers, we speak of vulnerability, of stolen innocence, and the loss of trust. But, watching Virginia’s interviews, I was struck by the grief of stolen joy. Despite everything she had endured, the smile in her voice was unmistakable. How joyful would her life have been, had she not been forced to slay demons?

Virginia Giuffre was beautiful, brave, compelling, and resilient. Those who knew her well have described her as funny, a once “free-spirited” child. She was compassionate and fierce, a lover of animals and a protector of wounded women. She made space, even in her own brokenness, to lift and inspire other survivors. She reminded them of their worthiness and gave them permission to tell their stories, in hopes they would someday own their strength.

It was a “friend” of the family who first abused Virginia. She was just 7 years old. Then, at 14, she was victimized by convicted human smuggler Ron Eppinger, the owner of a modeling agency. In the aftermath of that repeated abuse, she told the Miami Herald that she went from being in “an abusive situation, to being a runaway, to living in foster homes.”

Studies show a link between childhood sexual abuse and revictimization later in life. Those who are abused young are disproportionately targeted again. Perhaps it’s the wounds they carry with them – the lack of confidence, the timidity, the desperate need to be loved and cared for – that predators see in their demeanors and take advantage of. Maybe it’s that children stripped of their innocence are conditioned to believe that the horrors they’ve endured are normal. Whatever it was, Ghislaine Maxwell saw it in Virginia when she lured her into Jeffrey Epstein’s child sex trafficking ring at the age of 16, promising her proper training and employment as a masseuse.

The very first time she found herself alone with Epstein and Maxwell, under the guise of training, Virginia made the mistake of confiding in them about having been sexually abused. And - as is the way with pedophiles – they wasted no time in taking advantage of her fractured self-image. Virginia would later tell of crying in the shower that night, thinking to herself, “Maybe this is just how the world works. If abuse is so prevalent in my life, maybe that’s just what it is. That’s just life.”

While Virginia eventually “aged out” of Epstein’s favor, the abuse would last a full two years, spanning continents, his private island, and many encounters with wealthy deviants. She went on to make public claims against some of those men – including Prince Andrew (who settled with her). In an interview with the BBC, she described those years of abuse as having been “passed around like a platter of fruit.”

Epstein fulfilled his promise to provide her with training as a professional masseuse when he sent her to the International Training Massage School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2002. While there, she met her would-be husband, Robert Giuffre. She was 19, barely an adult.

Their relationship, on the surface, was a happy one. Together, they had three children and built a life far outside the world of sex trafficking. Following the birth of their daughter, she decided to speak out about her victimhood, establishing herself as a prominent voice against the elite circle of depravity she’d witnessed first-hand and a strong advocate for those still striving to break free.

Earlier this year, Virginia spoke out again. After first posting a photo of herself on Instagram, showing injuries she blamed on a collision, she later alleged abuse at the hands of her husband “for years.” In a statement made to People Magazine, she said:

“I was able to fight back against Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein who abused and trafficked me. But I was unable to escape the domestic violence in my marriage until recently. After my husband's latest physical assault, I can no longer stay silent."

The world, in the end, gave Virginia more than she could handle – a heavier burden than anyone should ever be forced to bear. On April 25, 2025, in what I can only imagine was a moment of extreme exhaustion and hopelessness, she took her own life.

If Virginia were alive today, I believe she’d be making public statements and offering to give congressional testimony against Maxwell. She was a vocal proponent for justice, having stated during victim testimony following Epstein’s death, “The reckoning must not end. It must continue. He did not act alone.”

Amanda Roberts, Virginia’s sister-in-law, says, “Ghislaine was a puppet master that used her womanhood to manipulate vulnerable girls…It’s time for transparency and truth.”

Virginia, in her own words, on what the pursuit of justice meant to her:

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Call to Action

Send a postcard, letter, or email to the White House, advising against any consideration of a pardon for groomer and convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell, here:

Add your name to the petition of Americans who oppose pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell here:

If you, or someone you know, is a victim of trafficking, get help here:

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