“My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.”

Virginia Roberts Giuffre

I was hesitant about reading this memoir. Like many people, I’d heard about Jeffrey Epstein and the crimes he’d committed against young girls. I’m not talking about young women, I’m talking about underage girls. I questioned my ability to remain calm. As a mother of two adult daughters, a grandmother of two teenaged girls, and a great grandmother to three girls under the age of ten, the thought of what my response would be was concerning. My relationship with my father was complex, but there wasn’t any suggestion of inappropriate behavior.

Despite my concerns, I believe it’s important to be aware of what is happening in the world. Let me begin by saying, this is not a political issue. This is about young girls being robbed of their innocence by mentally unstable older men.

Virginia’s abuse began where most sexual abuse of children begins, in the family home. I cannot understand what makes an adult male, a father, an uncle, a grandfather, look at a ten-year old girl and think about sex. Girls usually view their male relatives as protectors, not predators. In many ways the early abuse in Virginia’s life set her up for what transpired with millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

One of the most horrifying revelations in the book is the role Ghislaine Maxwell played in Virginia’s story. The thought that a woman would take advantage of a young girl, exposing her to the depravity of the Epstein world is beyond disturbing. Maxwell is as guilty as Epstein in the international trafficking of female children to men of wealth and power. Giuffre’s collaborator and friend, Amy Wallace, says of Maxwell , “She was not on the sidelines. She was sexually abusing herself. She was telling girls to sexually service her. She was hurting some of those girls when she was angry at them in a sexual way.” In 2022 Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking and sentenced to twenty years in prison.

As Virginia takes the reader through the many ways she was exploited over the years, it’s almost impossible to absorb the extent of abuse she suffered. Beyond the physical trauma, there is the psychological damage that she carried with her. Even her fleeting positive experiences were unable to lift her completely from the emotional pain of past.

This book explores a tragedy experienced by a large number of young girls, at the hands of wealthy and powerful men and women. This is not an exception in our world. Giuffre managed to relentlessly pursue justice for herself and other survivors of the Epstein network of sexual predators. Despite serious health issues and obstacles set up by abusers, she persisted. The stress of her experiences, her poor health, and family issues apparently was more than she could handle. On April 25, 2025 at forty-one years old Virginia Roberts Giuffre took her own life.

“Yes, I was sexually abused. My body was used in ways that did enormous damage to me. But the worst things Epstein and Maxwell did to me weren’t physical, but psychological.”

One of Giuffre’s abusers was Britain’s former Prince Andrew. In October he was stripped of his titles. In February 2026, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was arrested on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to police.

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide on August 10th, 2019 while in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. He was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. There have been questions about his death. Despite being under suicide watch while incarcerated, he managed to hang himself in his cell. Although the New York City Medical Examiner, Barbara Sampson, ruled his death a suicide, Epstein’s lawyer has challenged the findings and hired pathologist Michael Baden. After his death all charges against him were dismissed.

I have questions. With other countries pursuing those engaged in international sex trafficking and seeking justice for the survivors, the US seems to be turning a blind eye. And if Epstein was the top dog in the trafficking, who’s in charge now?

This is a painful book to read. But it should be read. As women, we need to stand with our sisters in exposing and convicting and locking these predators away from society. No one is above the law. And justice must be served.