Jeffrey Epstein, Stephen Hawking.Photo:Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty, Karwai Tang/WireImage
Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty, Karwai Tang/WireImage
Jeffrey Epsteinonce spoke about offering a reward to disprove a purported allegation thatStephen Hawkinghad taken part in an “underage orgy,” according to newly unsealed court documents.
According to the 2015email, Epstein told Maxwell she could “issue a reward” to any of Giuffre’s friends, acquaintances or family members “that come forward and help prove her allegations are false,” going on to specifically mention a purported claim that Hawking participated in an orgy in the Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home. There are no other mentions of any allegation regarding Hawking in the unsealed documents. Hawking has never been charged with sexual misconduct and the documents released on Wednesday do not include any specific allegations directly from Giuffre.
According to the 2015email, Epstein told Maxwell she could “issue a reward” to any of Giuffre’s friends, acquaintances or family members “that come forward and help prove her allegations are false,” going on to specifically mention the claim that Hawking participated in an orgy in the Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home.
Hawking visited the convicted sex offender’s private Caribbean island as part of a science conference trip to St. Thomas in March 2006, shortly before Epstein was first charged, according toSky NewsandThe Independent.
PEOPLE has reached out to Hawking’s estate for comment.
ABC Newsreported that a New York federal judge ordered the unsealing of a vast cache of documents publicly naming Epstein’s associates in December.
In the email message that mentioned Hawking, Epstein also referred to a separate allegation he claimed was false that involved former PresidentBill Clinton. Elsewhere in the documents, Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg testified that Clinton “likes them young, referring to girls.”
The former president did not object to the unsealing of the documents. In a statement to PEOPLE, Clinton Foundation spokesperson Angel Urena noted that Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Additionally, Urena referred PEOPLE to a 2019 statement, which read, in part, “President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York.”
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In a 2022 statement issued following an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre, lawyers for Andrew said, “Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in support of victims' rights.”
“Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks,” the statement read.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
