Victoria Roberts

In the P.A case, the woman's father actually encouraged his very young daughter to associate with a situation that surely must have rung a few warning bells ?!! Presumably as he was ok with what was being proposed, daughter would have been too!

When I was 17 I was employed by a man who had other business interests than the printing house where I worked. One day he approached me and asked if I'd like to work in his 'beauty salon & sauna' and to call in and have a look. I did call in. There he was with his senior manager both in little shortie bath robes with two, very glamorous, also 17 year old girls, draped all over them. It was like a very bad scene from the Benny Hill show! I was streetwise and aware of my own self worth and thought "no 'effin way am I getting involved with this bunch of pervs'. The thought of it made me feel sick. But what if I was a vulnerable, already abused child who felt utterly worthless?

Oh yes Annie, that was very 'silly' to put it mildly! I can't imagine why he would have wanted to associate with someone who had that sort of conviction! but it still doesn't make him wicked; Stupid, insensitive, arrogant certainly, but not totally bad. Tbh, I'm not sure that he's bright enough!!!!!!

And when she chose to leave Epstein paid for her to qualify as a masseur in Thailand

In her interview she said Epstein had an illness, she wants to sue Ms Maxwell and the photograph includes Ms Maxwell.

In her tv interview she asked the British people to support her,
what does she expect us to do ? Storm Buck House.

No excuse for Andrew continuing his friendship with Epstein
after he had served a prison sentence.

Mine certainly would!! I too have little time for P.A. and he certainly behaved foolishly and arrogantly. Keeping up the friendship with J.E after his first conviction showed a complete lack of judgement and was cavalier behavior on a grand scale,but I'm not sure that he was wilfully wicked! After all this girl was 17, her father seemed to be perfectly happy with his daughters life style,the photos show relaxed smiling faces,and she was clearly paid handsomely. Something doesn't quite ring true here! I suspect our old friend Money is in the driving seat!

I suspect her father was saying "she's a very good actress" to excuse himself for not noticing/realising what was going on when she was young..... but I am sure my parents would have noticed I was whizzing about all over the world in a private jet aged 17.

Like Annie, my father was very strict. I still had to be in by 10.30pm the night before I got married!!!

Maddy I have asked the same. She said she had many photographs yet only the one with Andrew has been produced publicly. And why, if her experience of sex with him was so awful why did she keep it for all those years, to show people she had met a royal ?

She said she asked Epstein to take that photograph with her camera.

She is trying to sue Ms Maxwell and the Epstein estate.

Why has she only complained about this now?
I don’t particularly like Prince Andrew, he comes across as entitled, self important, and arrogant, but I still wonder why she’s only started complaining these last few weeks. Is she after money? I suspect that’s the nub of it.

I agree Annie

She has never said who abused her when she was 7, surely if
speaking out about sexual abuse say all.

Oldwoman70 - she said that her 'interview' with JE and GM involved sexual activity and she just let them take control of her from that moment. Because of her previous abuse it seemed normal to her. I really don't know what to think. Her father said in his interview 'she is a very good actress'.

Epstein was certainly a villain but so is her father.

It seems obvious this young woman came from a very disfunctional background - which would mean she would be very susceptible to grooming. Calling her a prostitute is unbelievable! She suddenly found herself surrounded by wealth and told she was special. I would think initially she was asked to "just" massage Epstein but later it was made clear sex was expected. Who could she turn to for help? It would appear not her family.

What this is about is the experiences of Virginia Roberts and the other girls abused by Epstein, not the girls from Rotherham.

Not all 16 year old girls are unworldly , not all 16 year old girls have their fathers approval to live with a very wealthy man.

Jane Doe 5 was invited to stay on the island but declined the invite.

Buffybee. Her name is Virginia not Victoria.

What this is about is the sexual exploitation of young women and girls. If we simply dismiss their experiences by suggesting they made bad choices we're giving them responsibility, rather than putting it where it should be. Those responsible are the adults who recruited, groomed and trained these youngsters to be sex workers.
My question remains, how do we stop adults from exploiting children. We don't learn anything by putting responsibility with the abused, rather than the abuser.

Monica, there were plenty of other girls who said that they were invited to Epstein's house the same way as Victoria Roberts and as soon as they realised what was entailed, they walked away.
She chose to stay, living in "unimaginable luxury" and being paid for every sexual encounter.
She chose to stay, no-one forced her to stay.
You say that she had nowhere to go, she could have gone back to her Father's house where she was living previously. Why didn't she?
I can't accept that she was a sex slave, Yazidi girls were sex slaves, how can you compare the two.
You are trying to say that she was some vulnerable innocent child, she was far from that and even though she had been sexually abused at 7 years old........
She had choices!
And the choice she made was to be a prostitute.
Now she's realised that there is money to be made, probably millions and that is what so this is about........Money.

There is a difference between the young girls in Rotherham and the girls we have heard now speaking about Epstein.

The girls in Rotherham were given drugs and alcohol, they were used by many men, and left on the streets.

Virginia met her husband in Thailand when she was 19, she left her life with Epstein and he paid for her to train as a qualified masseur in Thailand.

I am certainly not excusing Epstein but there has been comparisons here with the victims in Rotherham and Epstein’s victims.

Buffy do you not understand the mental vulnerability of a young girl whose only experience of life is sexual abuse, being taken into a life of unimaginable (for her) luxury and money.

It is slavery. They are caught in a world they have no experience of and have nowhere else to go. They are in the same position an abused wife or partner, afraid to leave incase what is outside might be worse.

A sex slave wouldn't be paid but Victoria Roberts was paid very well.
I appreciate she says she had been abused in childhood and sadly so have thousands of young girls and women on our streets, but they are described as prostitutes.
I just can't agree with the press describing her as a slave, when she was living in luxury, jetting around the World, having sex with a rich old man and possibly his friends and being paid for it.

Your are judging posters Iam, I accept you have the professional skills , others do have knowledge and experience of life . You are sitting in judgement of posters who do not have your ‘professional skills’.

Does every juror in a court of law have ‘professional skills ?

VR says she was abused from the age of 7 which possibly suggests a family member or neighbour.

I’m not judging children. I’m disagreeing strongly with posters who imo are judging children

Well Iam you too are sitting in judgement if the others discussing this are sitting in judgement. You are judging fellow posters.

Anniebach, I’m sadly very well aware of the factors that contribute to young people being vulnerable. Are you suggesting that means the children are less deserving? Or that many parents try hard to keep their children safe but don’t succeed.
Maggie Oliver, the policewoman portrayed in Three Girls, the drama based on the Rochdale grooming scandal is setting up a charity to work therapeutically with survivors and their families. I’ve heard Maggie Oliver speak, heard her interviewed several times. One of the things that shines from her is the lack of judgement of the victims and their families. She has the personal and professional skills needed in those who seek to help, not simply sit in judgement.