Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
() The family of Virginia Giuffre is condemning the idea of potential clemency or a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and is urging President Trump not to show her any leniency.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of procuring underage girls for Epstein, recently met with Department of Justice representatives as the scandal about Epstein and his 2019 death in jail continues to dog the Trump administration. Some members of President Trump’s base have pushed back after the DOJ and FBI concluded Epstein died by suicide and said no additional prosecutions are planned.
The statement from Giuffre’s family comes as Trump, a former friend of Epstein who says the two had a falling out, told reporters the jet-setting financier “stole” spa worker Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, along with other employees.
Giuffre, perhaps the most prominent and vocal Epstein sex abuse survivor, died by suicide in April at age 41. She accused Maxwell of recruiting her as a teenager to be Epstein’s masseuse, leading to her abuse.
“Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life for the extraordinary violence and abuse she put not just our sister Virginia through, but many other survivors, who may number in the thousands,” Giuffre’s family said in a statement published by The Daily Mail. “A predator who thought only of herself, she destroyed the lives of girls and young women without conscience.”
Maxwell’s attorney said his client has not made any requests for clemency as she talks with federal authorities but “would welcome any relief.”
Trump has said he has the power to pardon Maxwell but added he hasn’t thought about it.
The president is among several celebrities who were in Epstein’s orbit before his public downfall and have tried to distance themselves from him.
