Ex-friend claims Ghislaine Maxwell may have Epstein’s alleged stash of sex tapes

Unnamed individual reportedly says suspected enabler of sex offender was ‘as cunning as they come,’ is likely in possession of incriminating recordings of the rich and powerful

By ToI Staff and Agencies 7 July 2020, 3:44 am

Edit

In this September 2, 2000, file photo, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, driven by Britain's Prince Andrew leaves the wedding of a former girlfriend of the prince, Aurelia Cecil, at the Parish Church of St Michael in Compton Chamberlayne near Salisbury, England (Chris Ison/PA via AP, File)

A former friend of Ghislaine Maxwell, who faces charges that she recruited women and girls, one as young as 14, for Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse, said Monday that she believed the accused woman to be in possession of a collection of recordings of powerful individuals having sex or abusing women.

“Not only did Epstein like to capture himself with underage girls on camera — he wanted to make sure he had something to hold over the rich and powerful men who took advantage of his sick largesse,” the unnamed individual told DailyMail.com.

“Ghislaine has always been as cunning as they come. She wasn’t going to be with Epstein all those years and not have some insurance,” the ex-friend said.

“The secret stash of sex tapes I believe Ghislaine has squirreled away could end up being her get out of jail card if the authorities are willing to trade. She has copies of everything Epstein had. They could implicate some twisted movers and shakers,” they said. “If Ghislaine goes down, she’s going to take the whole damn lot of them with her.”

This March 28, 2017 photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)

Maxwell, 58, has been indicted on multiple charges, including that she conspired to entice girls to engage in illegal sex acts with Epstein from 1994 through 1997.

Several Epstein victims have described Maxwell as his chief enabler, recruiting and grooming young girls for abuse. She has denied wrongdoing and called claims against her “absolute rubbish.”

When Epstein was arrested last year, prosecutors said law enforcement agents discovered hundreds or thousands of nude and seminude photographs of young females in his Manhattan mansion, more than a decade after he was first convicted of a sex crime involving a juvenile.

Maxwell was transferred Monday to to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as prosecutors sought to schedule a court appearance for her in Manhattan federal court.

She had been locked up at a New Hampshire jail since authorities arrested her last week at a $1 million estate she purchased there.

Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss, announces charges against Ghislaine Maxwell during a July 2, 2020, press conference in New York City. (Johannes EISELE / AFP)

Maxwell, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, was the former girlfriend and longtime close associate of Epstein, who killed himself at a federal jail in Manhattan last August while he awaited trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Prosecutors have said Maxwell “poses an extreme risk of flight.”

She has three passports, is wealthy with lots of international connections, and has “absolutely no reason to stay in the United States and face the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence,” they wrote in a memo.