Virginia Louise Giuffre (néeRoberts; August 9, 1983) is an American advocate of justice for victims of sex trafficking. [1] She is one of the known victims of a sex trafficking operation by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In 2015, she founded the nonprofit organization Victims Refuse Silence. [2]
She reportedly came from a "troubled home". Giuffre told the Miami Herald that she went from being in "an abusive situation, to being a runaway, to living in foster homes." She lived on the streets at age 13 before getting abused by a 65-year-old sex trafficker, Ron Eppinger, in Miami. [3]
Giuffre lived with Eppinger for approximately 6 months. He was raided by the FBI and later said guilty to charges of alien smuggling for prostitution, interstate travel for prostitution, and money laundering.
In May 2009 the courts got a civil lawsuit from Giuffre - against Jeffrey Epstein; [4][5] The case was settled for $500,000 (equivalent to $632,000 in 2021); This sum became known to the general public in January 2022.[6]
In September 2015, the courts got a civil lawsuit from Giuffre - against Ghislaine Maxwell;[7] The case was settled under seal in June 2017 with Maxwell reportedly paying Giuffre "millions".[7][8]