'I know I can't be hurt any more': Epstein victim hails 'centre of his ring' Ghislaine Maxwell's arrest as 'a great day for justice'
'I know I can't be hurt any more': Epstein victim hails 'centre of his ring' Ghislaine Maxwell's arrest as 'a great day for justice'
Daniel Bates For The Daily Mail In New York
42 mins ago
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One of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims yesterday declared his sex trafficking ring had finally been ‘taken down’.
Jennifer Araoz, who claims the financier raped her when she was 15, described Ghislaine Maxwell as ‘the centre of that ring’.
She said Epstein’s victims could ‘take a breath of relief’ following Maxwell’s dramatic arrest, adding: ‘I know that I can’t be hurt any more.’
Miss Araoz claims one of Epstein’s recruiters picked her up outside her school in New York in 2001 when she was just 14.
They persuaded her to come to Epstein’s £65million mansion, where he later raped her.
She said yesterday: ‘My fellow Epstein survivors and I are able to take a breath of relief, as Maxwell’s arrest means some justice for survivors can exist.
‘For years I feared Epstein and his ring. Maxwell was the centre of that sex trafficking ring. Now that the ring has been taken down, I know that I can’t be hurt any more.
‘Day after day, I have waited for the news that Maxwell would be arrested and held accountable for her actions. Her arrest is a step in that direction, and it truly means that the justice system didn’t forget about us.’
Among those who welcomed the news was lawyer David Boies, whose clients include Prince Andrew’s accuser Virginia Roberts.
The 36-year-old says she was forced to have sex with the Duke of York three times when she was just 17.
Mr Boies, who also represents Epstein victims Sarah Ransome, Juliette Bryant, Teresa Helm and sisters Maria and Annie Farmer, said: ‘This is a great day for justice. Jeffrey Epstein did not and could not have acted alone.
‘Our clients are very pleased, and very grateful, to the prosecutors that this important step has been taken towards bringing Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators to justice.’