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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Rachel Sharp

Epstein had room known as ‘the dungeon’ in NYC townhouse, victim claims

PA

Notorious child sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had a room known as “the dungeon” inside his New York City townhouse, according to testimony from one of his victims.

The final batch of documents were unsealed on Tuesday in the lawsuit brought by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against his accomplice and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Among the hundreds of pages was Ms Giuffre’s 2016 deposition, in which she detailed the abuse she suffered at the hands of Epstein as an underage girl.

In it, she claimed that the dead paedophile had a room she dubbed “the dungeon” in his Manhattan home, where a sexual photo of her and another victim was plastered on the wall.

“So there was pictures on his desk in the office and around that room, and then there’s this room that I refer to as the dungeon and that had a huge photograph of me and another girl, I mean huge as in bigger than that wall cabinet,” she testified.

“There’s a painting of both of us doing salacious acts together.”

When asked what she meant by “salacious acts”, she replied: “Sexual acts, you know what I’m saying?”

Ms Giuffre said that there were “nude photographs” of victims all around the paedophile’s properties including the main house on his private Caribbean island Little Saint James, his Palm Beach house, his Manhattan townhouse and his New Mexico ranch.

In the main house on Little Saint James, she testified that “there is nude photographs all over” the entertainment room, Maxwell’s office and Epstein’s bedroom.

When asked if guests to the island would have seen those images, she said: “To the best of my understanding, yes.”

Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre (centre) and Ghislaine Maxwell
— (PA)

In the Palm Beach home, Ms Giuffre testified that there was at least 50 photos on the hallway table as you entered the front door.

“My assumption is there is at least 50 photographs on that table, some with nude photographs, some with girls in raunchy, forgive me when I say raunchy, I mean lingerie photos mixed in with Jeffrey and some of the privileged people he’s met, such as, you know, I don’t know, like old girlfriends or models or Naomi Campbell or whatever the case is; but among all of those photographs would be nude photographs,” she testified.

Nude photos were also plastered floor to ceiling all over a “hidden room” in Epstein’s massage room, Ms Giuffre testified.

“And then there’s boxes and boxes and boxes of nude photographs,” she said.

The latest batch of documents also revealed new accusations against Les Wexner, the former CEO of Victoria’s Secret, with Ms Giuffre testifying that she was trafficked to him for sex between three and ten times during the time that she was recruited by Epstein and Maxwell.

“He participated in sex with minors,” Ms Giuffre testified.

The Independent has reached out to L Brands group for comment. A spokesperson for Mr Wexner told Business Insider in a statement: “Mr. Wexner was unaware of, and was never a participant in, any of the abhorrent behaviour engaged in by Epstein against Epstein’s victims, that Mr Wexner had never met Ms Guiffre, and that any claims to the contrary were not true.”

Several other famous figures have also been named in the newly-unsealed documents, including Prince Andrew, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Stephen Hawking. The duke, Mr Trump and Mr Clinton have all denied wrongdoing.

An individual being named in the documents does not mean they are accused of any wrongdoing.

The last of the documents from the 2017 lawsuit were unsealed by a New York court on Monday.

Ms Giuffre filed the defamation lawsuit against Maxwell in 2015, after she accused her of lying about the years-long abuse she had suffered at the hands of Epstein and some in his inner circle.

The suit was settled in 2017 but was placed under a protective seal – with the identities of those named in the filings kept under lock and key.

The Miami Herald sued for the release of the sealed documents while Maxwell’s legal team sought to block it.

Epstein and Maxwell in undated image
— (US Department of Justice)

Around 2,000 pages of documents were first unsealed in 2019, with further documents released over the following years.

But this current trove of documents remained sealed – and the names of hundreds of people associated with the dead paedophile were kept secret, known only as Jane and John Doe.

Then, in a landmark ruling last month, US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled that the trove of documents could be released and the names unsealed in full after 1 January.

While the federal judge ordered the names of several Epstein victims to remain anonymous, she said that there was no legal justification to keep the names of Epstein’s associates redacted as “John and Jane Does” – paving the way for several famous figures to find themselves tied to the notorious disgraced financier.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.

Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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