Alleged Victim of Jeffrey Epstein: He Was Monster, But Ghislaine Maxwell Wove Net Around Him

In July 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was charged with running a sex trafficking network of minors. The official version is that he hanged himself in prison while awaiting trial. His alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is now on trial in New York. She faces eight charges, including enticing minors as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts.

Sarah Ransome, one of the alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, has opened up about life in the sex trafficking network organised by the late financier and his purported accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Ransome, who is the granddaughter of Lord Gordon Macpherson, second baron of Drumochter, has revealed how she ended up in sexual servitude, being raped up to three times a day by Epstein.

In 2006, Ms Ransome said she decided to go to New York at the age of 22 after she became involved with a violent boyfriend and dropped out from the University of Edinburgh. In NYC, she got acquainted with a beautiful young woman, Natalya, who asked her for a phone number after learning that Sarah was dreaming of studying fashion.

"I was young and naive. I knew no one. I had no idea of the viper's nest I was walking into. 'I told her everything; how I was all alone, my dreams of studying fashion. She asked for my number and I gave it to her. It seemed the most natural thing in the world", Ms Ransome told the Mail on Sunday.

Within days Natalya called her and informed her about a wealthy philanthropist who helped young women to achieve their dreams. The two agreed to meet in the cinema.

"Looking back I realise I was targeted for my vulnerability. I was alone in the big city. I'd already admitted I was a lost soul. Jeffrey was charismatic, charming. He seemed genuinely interested in me. He homed in on my background, just like Natalya had – why did I want to study fashion, where in the UK was I from, did I have siblings? He was old but I didn't think of him as a dirty old man. I felt safe because there were so many girls my age with him. They were well-groomed, they seemed happy", Ms Ransome said.

Several days after the meeting, she received another call with an invitation to visit Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean along with other young women. Little Saint James is the place where the financier and his powerful friends are said to have abused young women and underage girls.

Recalling the moment, Ms Ransome said the invitation felt like she “hit the jackpot”. “What 22-year-old would have said no?” Ms Ransome said.

First Warning Bell

Epstein’s behaviour changed during the flight, Sarah Ransome says. The financier suddenly asked her for a foot massage, something that left the young woman bewildered. All the other girls on the plane were sleeping or feigned sleep, she says. At one instance she heard loud moans coming from the rear of the jet.

"Epstein was having full-on sex with one of the girls. They made no attempt to hide", she said. "I was horrified, I'd never seen anything like that before. But no one said anything. The other girls kept their eyes closed. When it was over, Jeffrey and the girl got dressed as if nothing had happened", Ransome explained.

Epstein again asked her for a foot message after arriving to the island. The financier got angry and yelled because she didn’t do it properly, Sarah says.

The next day she was approached by her friend Natalya, who told her that Epstein wanted to see her. The meeting ended with the financier raping Sarah.

"He said, 'Tonight I am going to teach you how to be a woman'. I sobbed and screamed for him to stop", she said.

Dying From Shark Bites Was a Welcomed Alternative

Sarah Ransome revealed that she tried to escape the island, but was caught by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. She recalled how she thought about swimming in the sea, which she knew could have ended badly as there were sharks in the water.

"At that point the sharks were a welcome alternative to the hell I'd been through. In that moment death felt preferable to one more rape", Ms Ransome told the Mail on Sunday, adding that Epstein reportedly raped her every day, often two or three times.

The financier threatened to kill her and her family if she ever dared to talk about his crimes, and Sarah says she believed him when made threats as she had seen photos with many powerful people.

"There were pictures everywhere of him with Presidents, the Pope, world leaders, royalty. I was scared that if I ever spoke out he would have me killed like he'd threatened", she said.

Ms Ransome believes the financier had assembled a vast monitoring video system and recorded every guest at his private island and mansions across the United States.

"I once lit a cigarette and Jeffrey, who hated smoking, came out of nowhere. When I tried to escape I purposely chose a remote spot yet Ghislaine and security guards were there instantly", Ms Ransome said.

Ghislaine Was Jekyll and Hyde

Commenting on Ghislaine Maxwell, Sarah Ransome recalled how the British socialite’s mood could change instantly, with Maxwell vacillating between “nurturing mother figure” and then "cruel" madame boss lady.

Ransome claimed Maxwell “bullied” her about her weight, telling Sarah, who weighed 10 stones and 5 pounds being 5 feet 9 inches, to go on a diet that included only cucumbers and tomatoes.

“I was starving every day. Ghislaine told me I was fat. She was a Jekyll and Hyde character. She could be kind, smiling, charming, what I called 'Gracious Ghislaine'. That was the side of her the celebrities saw. But then she could be angry, cruel", Ms Ransome told the Mail on Sunday.

Although she believed Epstein was a monster, she noted that Maxwell “facilitated the spider’s web around him”.

"Ghislaine enabled Jeffrey to do what he did. believe she is evil. She's a narcissist who thinks she has done nothing wrong. To her, we were nothing. I hope justice is done", she said.

Her interview comes amid the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell in New York. Four alleged victims of Epstein and Maxwell have testified against her in court. She faces eight charges, including sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor, as well as enticing minors as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts. If found guilty Maxwell, who is 59, may face up to 80 years in prison. She claims she is innocent and that she has been made a scapegoat for Epstein's crimes.

The prosecution rested its case this week after 10 days of hearings, with Maxwell’s legal team presenting its arguments next week. Initially, the trial, which began on 29 November, was to last six weeks with a brief pause over Christmas, but now reports say that the verdict may be announced already this month.

Sarah Ransome sued Maxwell and Epstein in 2018, a year before the financier was charged with running a sex trafficking network of minors. Her lawsuit was settled out of court.

"This is not and never will be a sex-trafficking case. It is the story of a brief, consensual relationship between two adults", read the court filings pertaining to that lawsuit as per the Mail on Sunday.

Ms Ransome says that although she and other young women didn’t get to see Epstein in court, his death in custody made her feel safe. "I could stop looking over my shoulder", she said.

Commenting on Maxwell’s trial, she said although she is not directly involved in the trial, she felt as though she had to travel to the United States to "look Ghislaine in the eyes" if she is convicted.

"It's a matter of principle. I lived in fear of her and Jeffrey for so many years. If I have to rent a tent and sleep on the court steps before the verdict is delivered then that's what I will do. I want her to know I'm there when her sentence is read. I want justice to finally be done", she told the Mail on Sunday.