Virginia Giuffre, who reached a settlement in her sex abuse lawsuit against Britain's Duke of York, Andrew, who was a victim of sex trafficking run by financier Jeffrey Epstein, has died aged 41.
Her representative confirmed she died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia.
“Virginia was a tireless advocate against sexual abuse and human trafficking and was a light to many survivors,” her family said in a statement.
“Despite all the challenges she faced in life, she shone brightly. She will be missed immensely.”
Her publicist Dini von Muffling described Giuffre as “deeply loving, wise and witty.”
“She adored her children and many animals. She always cared about me more than herself,” she wrote in her statement.
“I will miss her so much that words cannot express. It has been an honor to represent her throughout her life.”
Giuffre, an American-born, long-time Australian, has become an advocate for sex trafficking victims and a key figure in Epstein's protracted downfall.
Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, told interviewers her childhood was shattered when she was sexually abused by a family friend as a primary school student.
She later ran away from home and faced further abuse, she said.
In 2015, she got married, moved to Australia, started a family and founded the human rights charity Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR).
She was treated in an Australian hospital last month after a serious incident, her representative said.
She did not respond to questions about the date, location, nature or other details of the incident, or the accuracy of an Instagram post in which Ms. Giuffre said she was in a car that collided with a school bus and her prognosis was poor.
She was charged on February 2 with breaching a domestic violence prevention order in Ocean Reef, near Perth, according to Western Australian (WA) courts records.
Ms Giuffre's case was first heard in Joondalup Magistrates Court, north of Perth, on March 14, where she pleaded no contest
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
