Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty

Thank you Coastpath. I’m not a bad person I hope but I feel no compassion for those two. They were thoroughly nasty and one once physically assaulted me in the street for no reason whatsoever other than that she thought I was ‘stuck up’ (i.e. had my own friends, went to grammar school and didn’t behave like her). Anyone with any sense gave them a very wide berth. They made their own choices for no apparent reason - they weren’t products of broken homes - and probably ended up with several children living in council housing and claiming benefits, setting thoroughly bad examples to their children, rather like Chestnut’s example. Having a baby used to be a way of getting housed by the local authority - I have no idea if that still applies as I’m speaking of fifty years ago.

It always breaks my heart seeing women victim blame other women but victim blaming children who cannot legally consent in comment after comment is just horrendous. .

At least just stop. You've said your bit, does being "right" matter that much to you that you are willing to cause this level of upset and offense?

I think her accent and the fact she was a woman somehow lured these girls into a false sense of security. She legitimised him. Without her, they may well have made a different decision.

Atqui

GSM I have to say you are brave to put your head above the parapet and state your beliefs. I do not condone for one moment what Epstein and Maxwell did in seeking out and grooming young girls, however I agree that there are girls who are sexually active by choice at a relatively young age , and to deny their sexuality is almost Victorian .

It isn't denying anyone's sexuality to tell them that having full sex at the age of 15 may not be appropriate. It's simply protecting them. If they want to experiment there are lots of things they can do without breaking the law. Decent sex education should help them with that

I thought it was quite commonly known that some girls and boys end up looking for "love" in all the wrong places.
It's up to the adults amongst us to do the right thing by them.

If an underage girl is actively seeking sexual partners (for whatever reason) then sooner or later someone will have sex with her. With make-up etc. she may look much older and a young man of 18-20 will not be asking for her birth certificate unless his parents have taught him well. It's the way of the world and has always been so.
This is not to say Epstein's victims were like this, just that there are girls like this.

GSM I have to say you are brave to put your head above the parapet and state your beliefs. I do not condone for one moment what Epstein and Maxwell did in seeking out and grooming young girls, however I agree that there are girls who are sexually active by choice at a relatively young age , and to deny their sexuality is almost Victorian .

I am always astounded that it is feminists who are classed as 'men haters' I wouldnt think that any normal man would think it ok to have sex with a 14 year old. I have a higher view of men than that.

Germanshepherdsmum

What a load of tosh Summerlove.

Well of course you’d think so.

Germanshepherdsmum, the loving way you speak about dogs and show kindness towards other gransnetters makes me think you are a warm-hearted person. I wonder if after all your many life experiences and education you feel sorry for those girls and their chaotic, perhaps dangerous, start too.

Germanshepherdsmum

*Gill*, Doodledog et al. I can still see them in my mind’s eye, and if you could see them and the way they acted you would understand why the locals described them as they did. They actively went out seeking men or boys. I’m not talking about much older men, dirty old men, but it was very much known that they were ‘available’. Such girls exist. Don’t pretend that they are all exploited when they happily put themselves on offer.

Your condescending attitude doesn’t put you in any better light than the one you clearly see those young girls in.

What a terrible attitude

What a load of tosh Summerlove.

JaneJudge

^I can't believe some of the comments on here about children who have been preyed on by men.^

I can. It's steeped in misogyny

Exactly.

It’s extremely sad how not surprised I am. Some women will always turn on other, no matter what. The default is to always protect the male

I hope so Chestnut. A loving, happy family around them would be a good outcome.

Not a crime.
How about the people who slept with her?
How do you think their lives have panned out?

Coastpath possibly like the one I mentioned, might have six kids and several grandchildren.

Christ at least this confirms my belief never to report any sexual assault.

I feel sorry for those young girls described by their neighbours as unpleasant scrubbers. I wonder where they are now?

Blondiescot, I’m sure you know that the result of each case will depend on the particular circumstances.

GSM, I have also sat through court cases where that defence was dismissed, so it is not always the case. And yes, I appreciate that there may be cases where the 'man' was not much older than the girl, but that was not the case here, was it? My husband is four years older than me - I was 16 when I started dating him. Had I been under 16 when we first had sex, he would still have been committing an offence, would he not?

Some of the ‘men’ were not much older than the girls. Why do I have to keep repeating that they weren’t dirty old men as one poster suggested? Reasonable belief that the girl is older can be and is used as a defence Blondiescot.

JaneJudge I just know, you'll have to take my word for it. And no, she wasn't my daughter or a blood relative of mine.

Chestnut

JaneJudge

'putting themselves on offer' is like the nonsense trotted out about rape victims too. Have a word with yourself GSM

There are indeed young teenage girls who go out of their way to have sex. I know of one who had six children (not by the same man) and her daughters are now giving birth at an alarming rate. She had a normal upbringing, no weird stuff going on, she just wanted sex and babies as a young teen. You have to accept there are such girls and they are not all victims.

How do you know what her upbringing is and no weird stuff going on? was she your daughter?

No, not all young teenage girls are innocent and naive - I'm sure none of us are naive enough to believe that is the case. However, it still doesn't take away from the fact that it is the man who has sex with a girl below the age of consent who is committing the offence, not the girl herself. And believing that she was older than she seems is not a defence in law, as I'm sure you are well aware, GSM.

Thank you Chestnut. I know my experience is not unique. Indeed they are not all victims. You could say that some of the men they snare end up the victims.