British physicist Stephen Hawking is just one of the high-profile names released in documents relating to billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, where he is alleged to have taken part in an "underage orgy".
US Judge Loretta Preska today unsealed documents naming more than 170 people who were either associates, friends or victims of financier Epstein - who was accused of grooming and raping underage girls at his private estate located in the US Virgin Islands. The documents relate to a lawsuit involving British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with the convicted sex offender.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz were among Hollywood stars listed as his associates - and there is no suggestion those mentioned either knew about his crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour. However the accusation involving Stephen Hawking is incredibly damning, as a 2015 email from Epstein to disgraced Maxwell has been published about a claim by accuser Virginia Giuffre.
It shows that he was content for her to "issue a reward" to any of Giuffre's friends to counter her claims, shortly after she filed a civil claim in the US. The email also mentions former US President Bill Clinton - who has previously said through a spokesperson that while he travelled on Epstein's jet several times, he never visited his homes or private island and did not know about his crimes.
The email read: "You can issue a reward to any of Virginia’s friends, acquaints, family that come forward and help prove her allegations are false. The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy."
Gangsters ‘call for ceasefire’ after deadly Christmas Eve pub shootingIn the same year as the email, pictures emerged of the renowned Cambridge professor at a 2006 barbecue on Epstein's island - Little Saint James - as reported by the Telegraph. When he was one of the 21 world-famous scientists who were at an Epstein-funded conference on gravity in March 2006, the paralysed professor - who died in 2018 aged 76 after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - was said to have taken a boat cruise and submarine tour whilst there.
The island is at the forefront of the allegations against Epstein, who took his own life behind bars in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. He allegedly flew his victims in on a private jet dubbed the 'Lolita Express' and held his victims captive whilst sexually abusing them.
Employees at an airport in the US Virgin Islands told Vanity Fair in 2019 that they often saw Epstein in the company of girls who appeared to be minors. One said he'd see Epstein twice a month on average, adding: "There’d be girls that look like they could be in high school."
The 75-acre estate, sold in 2023 for £47million, was purchased by the well-connected financier in 1998 for $7.95 million (about £5 million at the time). Accessible by private plane or boat, the island features a stone mansion, two guest houses, a swimming pool, temple, helipad, sundial, and sweeping views of the crystal clear sea.
Some conspiracy theories suggest there are secret underground tunnels beneath the temple. The island had dozens of staff when Epstein used it as his primary residence, and he is known to have hosted many rich and powerful guests.
But it gained a reputation for depravity, according to locals, and there have been allegations of child sexual abuse, human trafficking and orgies. It is alleged Epstein continued to bring underage girls and young women to the island as recently as the months before his arrest in July 2019.
The island estate was raided by the FBI following Epstein's suicide in August 2019.
The Duke of York stepped away from royal duties after Ms Giuffre claimed she was forced to sleep with him when she was 17 - on the orders of Epstein. The royal repeatedly denied her allegations made in a US civil trial and settled the case for an undisclosed sum without any admission of liability in February 2022.
Andrew vehemently denied all allegations of sexual impropriety made against him. When asked whether any girls under the age of 18 were present, Maxwell replied: "There were no girls on the island at all. No girls, no women, other than the staff who work at the house. Girls meaning, I assume you are asking underage, but there was nobody female outside of the cooks and the cleaners."
Ms Giuffre, now 40, reportedly met Maxwell when working at Donald Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club as a spa attendant. She is said to have been approached by Maxwell and offered her a job working for Epstein as his travelling masseuse.
Four human skulls wrapped in tin foil found in package going from Mexico to USMaxwell has been imprisoned since July 2020, despite numerous attempts from her defence counsel to have her released on bail. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the federal court in the Southern District of New York in June 2022.
The socialite indicated her desire to appeal shortly after her conviction with her lawyers claiming victims had “faded, distorted and motivated memories”. Her appeal is currently scheduled to be heard in November next year.