Trigger Warning: discussion of sexual abuse of a minor
Because the list of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's victims is so long, and so extensive, we have yet to understand the depth of the depravity by which these girls were traumatized while in captivity. Every day I hear a new name, someone who came forward to tell their story for nothing in return. No money. No safety. No justice. Nothing. If only to add their name to the list in the hopes that bigger is better. Or maybe "better" isn't the right word. Blatant. Unavoidable. Loud. But as the list grows, so, too, does the list of girls who were lost as a direct result of their abuse and abusers.
When we talk about the credibility of a victim coming forward, society tends to handle someone who's more put-together, maybe an E. Jean Carroll, if you will, than a Virginia Giuffre, someone who has lost custody of their kids, lives in the cycle of violence, maybe substance abuse. We don't handle that very well. We don’t take them seriously when they're "messy." We want them to look put-together, qualified, nice. Age helps. We trust older women. But not those messy girls. So I ask you, if it was you who was abused for years, pulled from your families, sent out like a "bowl of fruit" to pleasure men who wouldn't remember your name, how put-together would you end up being? Would you make it?
CAROLYN ANDRIANO
Carolyn began coming to Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach home in the early 2000s, only 14 years-old and recruited by her friend Virginia (Roberts) Giuffre. Jeffrey told the girls that if they brought their friends, he'd pay up to $300/head, and for most of these kids that was more money than they'd ever seen. Virginia had been homeless just prior to working for Epstein, and before that had spent half her life in foster care after being sexually abused in the 1st grade. She didn't have money, and no one taught her how to protect herself. So she brought Carolyn and got her $300.
Ghislaine Maxwell greeted her at the door, an older woman, she said, kind of pretty, but she never properly learned how to pronounce her name, and just referred to her as "Maxwell." Virginia showed Carolyn how to massage Epstein for 45 minutes, then climbed on the table and had sex with him. Instructional, but also uncomfortable for the young girl to watch. But she gave them her number and took a little money home as encouragement for the “next time.”
Carolyn continued to go to Epstein's house for four years, forced to have sex with him in some way, shape, or form during every single visit, always given a handful of cash and scheduling the next appointment with "Maxwell," and then a team of subsequent girls who became his staff. Sometimes it was Maxwell, herself, who touched the girl, examining her naked body, and evaluating it for "Mr. Epstein." They'd leave her money in the sink afterward, but she always remembered when they handed it to her personally, the kind of day when she held her chin a little higher as she left for home.
Carolyn's mother wouldn't allow her to go to Little Saint James, Epstein's private property in the Virgin Islands, saying she was too young to travel alone, now 15 years-old. So she stayed home, recruiting her friends for the old man and his partner. He told her to find kids her age or younger, but she struggled with her feelings and her body, and didn't recognize the trauma. It had already taken its toll, burning itself into her mental health as she used the hundreds and hundreds of dollars to numb her young pain with cocaine and sleeping pills. She started getting into trouble, stealing things to get a fix that couldn’t be covered by Epstein's payments for sex.
It would be Carolyn's testimony that helped put Ghislaine Maxwell in prison, though she never felt believed. And when Maxwell's attorneys accused her of lying to make money, Carolyn broke down in tears.
"Money will not ever fix what that woman did to me." - Carolyn Andriano
LEIGH "SKYE" PATRICK
In 2003 Leigh Patrick, who goes by "Skye" was invited to a "house party" at Epstein's mansion in Palm Beach, likely by Ghislaine Maxwell, though the details of the invitation are unclear according to her sister, Selby. Patrick was promised what all the other girls were promised--money, travel, stability, and a potential modeling career. But there was no house party; instead she was greeted by Epstein wearing only a towel. He offered her $300 to take off her shirt, but when she did he started to get more aggressive, and she left. But after some thought, Patrick reconsidered, and returned to Epstein's house to do whatever he wanted, going home with a pocket full of cash.
Like Carolyn Andriano, Skye Patrick struggled with substance abuse, and used Epstein's money to fuel an ever-increasing need for drugs and alcohol to offset the turbulent and destructive cycle into which Epstein had pulled the young girl.
Neither of these girls, and now women, were highly-educated, wealthy, well-spoken, or someone society might consider “credible.” They were traumatized, and ultimately addicted, and had extensive criminal records.
Skye Patrick died of an accidental heroin overdose on May 30, 2017, and was discovered in a room at the Treetops Motel in West Palm Beach, Florida. She was 29 years-old.
Carolyn Andriano died of an accidental fentanyl and Xanax overdose on May 23, 2023, and was discovered in a room at the DoubleTree Hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida. She was 36 years-old.
I’d never heard of either of these women, and I don’t know most of the thousands who’ve come forward to tell their stories. And I don’t know how many, ultimately, have died at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
But their stories deserved to be told.
May their memories be a blessing, and bravery a lesson to us all.
Ellie is an author, editor, and owner of Red Pencil Transcripts, and works with filmmakers, podcasts, and journalists all over the world. She lives with her family just outside of New York City.
This just breaks my heart, so much innocence dashed to pieces by these filthy, rotten low lifes.
Hard stuff to “like” but in my mind, important stuff to hear, believe, and take seriously. These were children, and they were used shamelessly and heartlessly.