Epstein’s UK ally Ghislaine Maxwell turns up at LA diner
THE whereabouts of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has come under intense scrutiny since the death of her former boyfriend, convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
But in a photograph published on Thursday, Miss Maxwell, an alleged accomplice in the financier’s child sex trafficking ring – an allegation she has always denied – appears relaxed and apparently happy to pose at a burger chain in the Hollywood Hills.
The emergence of the picture, reportedly taken on Monday afternoon, has led to speculation that Miss Maxwell may be planting appearances to avoid public scrutiny. Fittingly, she was said to be reading a book on the “secret lives” of CIA operatives. Once spotted, Miss Maxwell apparently told an onlooker: “Well, I guess this is the last time I’ll be eating here.”
The spotlight on the 57-year-old intensified last week when unsealed court documents revealed she was accused of playing a key role in procuring young girls for Epstein, who was found dead in his New York cell on Saturday.
He had been arrested on July 6 and was awaiting trial on fresh charges involving underage girls. Last night, after a post-mortem examination, his death was ruled to be a suicide by hanging.
Miss Maxwell, daughter of disgraced publishing tycoon Robert, has never been charged with any crime, and has always denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s sexual abuses.
But in the aftermath of Epstein’s death William Barr, the US attorney general, warned “any co-conspirators should not rest easy” and lawyers for his alleged victims are said to be keen to speak to Miss Maxwell.
Workers at the In-n-out burger bar were under strict instruction by their bosses not to divulge any details of Miss Maxwell’s visit. The photos were obtained by the New York Post.
Miss Maxwell’s links to Los Angeles are tenuous, with her circle of acquaintances anchored to the east coast.
Her ocean conservation project, Terramar, which closed last month, was operating on the West Coast, but its Los Angeles-based owners were nowhere to be found on Thursday.
On Wednesday a report suggesting she was in a property in Manchester-by-the-sea, Massachusetts, led camera crews to the town. The owner of the house, Scott Borgerson, later insisted she was not at his home, describing her as a “former friend”.
Several sources speculated she could have been staying with her older sister, Christine, 69, and her husband in Aixen-provence. However, documents seen by The Telegraph showed the couple sold their home in the area in 2015.
Last night, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it received a complaint over claims in court papers that a girl was “forced to have sex with Prince Andrew”, prompting a review of “available evidence” in 2015.
Lawyers for Virginia Roberts, the woman at the centre of the allegations who was pictured with the prince in 2001, also contacted the force in 2016, according to Channel 4 News. The Met reportedly said it “reviewed the available evidence” and decided that the matter “would not progress to a full investigation”.
All the allegations about the Duke of York were struck from the court record in 2015 after being described as “immaterial and impertinent” by a judge.
The Duke has always denied the allegations and any involvement.
‘Well, I guess this will be the last time that I’ll be eating here’