New York Southern District Prosecutor Audrey Strauss wants Prince Andrew to speak to them about Ghislaine Maxwell’s "child sex abuse". Video / AP
The British socialite that is linked to Jeffrey Epstein has a secret stash of the paedophile's sex tapes, a former friend claimed to Daily.Mail.com.
Ghislaine Maxwell, 58, was arrested at her hideout in Bradford, New Hampshire, in the US last Thursday and was charged with six federal crimes, including enticement of minors, sex trafficking and perjury.
Branded as Epstein's madam and closest friend by his sexual assault survivors, Maxwell has been accused of procuring underage girls for the multi-millionaire, who reportedly kept evidence of his perverted sex acts against the minors.
After Epstein's arrest last July, police found thousands of graphic photos that included images of underage girls and a safe filled with compact discs labelled "nude girls", police said.
Now, one of Maxwell's closest former friends has claimed that the socialite has copies of all of his sex tapes and will use the footage as an insurance policy to save herself.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo / Getty Images
"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 former friend explained.
"The secret stash of sex tapes I believe Ghislaine has squirrelled 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 added: "If Ghislaine goes down, she's going to take the whole damn lot of them with her."
The former friend continued: "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.
"I'll bet anything that once it comes out that Ghislaine has those tapes these men will be quaking in their Italian leather boots.
"Ghislaine made sure that she socked away thumb drives of it all. She knows where all the bodies are buried and she'll use whatever she had to save her own a**."
The day after Epstein's suspected suicide last August, the New York Times released an interview journalist James B. Stewart had with Epstein in August 2018.
During the interview, the paedophile revealed that he filed away dirt on his famous house guests.
"Some of it potentially damaging or embarrassing, including details about their supposed sexual proclivities and recreational drug use," Epstein said at the time.
Maxwell, who is currently being held without bail in New York, is due to make a court appearance on Friday.
Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly has a secret stash of Jeffrey Epstein's twisted sex tapes and will allegedly use the footage as an insurance policy to save herself. Photo / AP
An indictment made public last week accused Maxwell of facilitating Epstein's crimes by helping him to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse girls as young as 14. It also said she participated in the sexual abuse.
She has previously denied allegations against her.
The socialite has been pictured with US President Donald Trump, along with his now-wife Melania.
She was so close with former President Bill Clinton, who flew multiple times on Epstein's infamous Lolita Express, that she attended the wedding of his daughter Chelsea in 2010.
But one of Maxwell's closest friends is Britain's Prince Andrew, who has been pictured with Maxwell along with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has accused the royal of sexually assaulting her.
Maxwell in the background of a photo taken at her London apartment, where Prince Andrew posed with his hand around the waist of then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Photo / File
Andrew has denied these allegations.
The sex ring she allegedly ran with Epstein reportedly catered to a number of rich and powerful men. Maxwell could reveal their names to investigators and testify against them in an attempt to get a lighter sentence.
"I'm sure that Ghislaine's attorneys will try everything. They will try to make a deal where, perhaps, she speaks out about a bigger name to get reduced charges for herself," said Lisa Bloom, the lawyer representing one of Epstein's victims.
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, driven by Britain's Prince Andrew. Photo / AP
"But she herself is a big name. With Jeffrey Epstein's passing a year ago, she is one of the biggest names of people who were involved in this scheme."
Spencer Kuvin, who represents six of the victims, said his clients hoped Maxwell's arrest was "just the beginning".
"On behalf of the victims, we are very happy that the US Attorney's office has decided to move forward on this arrest, which is hopefully just the beginning. We're hopeful that there will continue to be additional arrests with respect to other co-conspirators," Kuvin said.
"The victims are very sceptical because there have been arrests in the past and the US government has not followed through."
