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Home / World

Ghislaine Maxwell took snaps of topless young girls as a hobby, former butler claims

NZ Herald
29 Jul, 2020 04:05 AM4 mins to read

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Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo / Getty Images

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo / Getty Images

Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly took pictures of young topless girls as a "hobby" and kept them in a photo album in Jeffrey Epstein's Florida home, a former butler has claimed.

In unearthed documents, which were unsealed in 2018, Epstein's former maintenance worker and butler Juan Alessi made deviant claims about the pair in a sworn deposition for a 2015 case involving one of their accusers, the Daily Mail reports.

"[Ghislaine Maxwell] had an album full of photographs of people, young girls, girls. And I remember that she had. Like a hobby," Alessi's deposition read.

"It was some girls were topless, taking the sun," his statement, made in 2016, continued.

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Alessi's statement was made to lawyers of Virginia Giuffre, one of the pair's accusers who sued Maxwell for defamation as the British socialite claimed she made the allegations of sexual abuse.

Giuffre, who is pictured in a now-infamous photo with Prince Andrew and Maxwell, alleges that Maxwell forced her to have sex with the royal when she was just 17 years old.

Prince Andrew has profusely denied any allegation made against him.

Prince Andrew pictured with his arm around Virginia Giuffre's waist and standing next to Ghislaine Maxwell.
Prince Andrew pictured with his arm around Virginia Giuffre's waist and standing next to Ghislaine Maxwell.

Alessi, who worked for Epstein from 1990 to 2002, also claimed in a statement to Giuffre's lawyers that he found a number of racy sex toys in Epstein's Palm Beach, Florida mansion.

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"I would find things like a dildo, it's called a double," Alessi said, according to the documents.

"I hate to say it because these ladies. But I find these things, put my gloves on, took it out and rinse it, and put it in Ms Maxwell's closet."

The 70-year-old former employee also claimed he came across a "shiny black costume" in Maxwell's closet that he believed the billionaire used for sex.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo / Getty Images
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo / Getty Images

He added that he saw "probably over 100" females go to the house during his tenure.

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Alessi confirmed that when he cleaned up after girls gave Epstein "massages", he would come across sex toys.

He also claimed that he was tasked with paying some of the women who came to the house.

"I used to go to the bank, withdraw $10,000," he said.

"I'd pay them out of petty cash and fill out a receipt. I wish I'd known what they were really being paid for. [Epstein] swore them to secrecy, threatened them if they ever told."

A woman who appears to be Ghislaine Maxwell posing nude on a beach at Jeffrey Epstein's Florida home. Photo / Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office
A woman who appears to be Ghislaine Maxwell posing nude on a beach at Jeffrey Epstein's Florida home. Photo / Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office

On Tuesday, a judge ordered five documents which are part of the seven-hour, 418 page-long deposition Maxwell gave in the now-settled lawsuit, to be made public.

Maxwell's legal team were given a week to appeal against the decision on the ruling, that was made last week in a court hearing, however the judge upheld her decision and said the documents will be unsealed on Thursday.

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The 58-year-old British socialite currently faces trial over criminal child sex trafficking charges in New York, having been accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse.

Maxwell has pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.

On Monday, Maxwell ambushed prosecutors by asking for a gag order to prevent witnesses publishing information about her criminal case online.

The British socialite's attorney wrote to Judge Nathan asking her to keep discovery materials from being published, but wanted permission to identify witnesses and Maxwell's alleged victims who have already come forward in the case.

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