Ugly truths of Epstein’s life can’t be allowed die with him
PRINCE Andrew’s paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent jail cell suicide makes it even more crucial officials dig deeper into his criminality.
The billionaire’s death at the weekend robbed scores victims of the justice they have been denied by his money and powerful network throughout their lives.
Although they will now never get the bittersweet satisfaction of confronting him in court, they still have the right to discover the actual depth of his depravity.
His trial next year would have shed light on the many aspects of his crimes, the cover-ups and friendships he enjoyed while running his criminal enterprise.
His friends, of course, include the Duke of York, who, after the Wall Street financier was released from prison for soliciting prostitutes, including a minor, was happy to visit him in New York in 2010 and was seen chatting to the paedophile as they walked through Central Park.
Five years after the picture was taken, former Epstein “sex slave”, Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre) alleged she was “lent out” to the Prince on three separate occasions.
As a 17-year-old she claimed she was flown to London, where she had sex with the Prince as well as being intimate with him in New York and the US Virgin Islands.
In a witness statement, a second girl, Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claims Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch at Epstein’s New York apartment in 2001.
Buckingham Palace has vehemently denied both claims.
Of Giuffre, they said: “Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.
“It is emphatically denied that the Duke had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.
“Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”
But while Epstein has now freed himself from punishment, questions are mounting about his relationship to both the Duke and Sarah Ferguson to whom the billionaire once lent £15,000 to clear her debts.
The Duchess later described the arrangement as “a gigantic error of judgment”.
But Andrew and his ex are not the only Brits needing to provide answers.
Epstein’s one-time girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of disgraced press baron Robert Maxwell, has been accused by numerous women of abuse.
Giuffre said Maxwell, now 57, was the recruiter, the procurer of young girls to satisfy Epstein’s sexual appetite, even trawling schools to entice his underage victims.
It was in Maxwell’s London home that a photograph was taken in 2001 capturing Andrew grinning with his arm around the midriff of Giuffre.
Buckingham Palace has never been able to explain the photograph.
Maxwell, described by some victims as Epstein’s “madam”, has denied all claims against her.
No one is assuming guilt, but the Epstein case and evidence do call for a proper investigation to be undertaken.
We are talking about the grave crime of trafficking of children and authorities should learn from the past not to ignore such allegations.
Prince Andrew must now give a full account of his relationship with Epstein and answer the accusations levelled against him.
In the post-#MeToo era, no one, no matter how powerful they may be, no one should be able to bat away such serious sexual accusations – even if they are royal.
Few people will mourn Epstein, but he and his alleged victims both deserved a different ending.
He may be now dead, but the truths of this appalling case must not die with him.
In the post-#MeToo era, no one should be able to bat away serious sexual accusations