Isolation increases vulnerability
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Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial has ended, and the jury has found her guilty on five federal charges relating to child trafficking and the luring of minors. Ghislaine is described as a “mastermind” in her role of finding, maintaining and arranging meetings between young girls and their companion / partner, the convicted child robber Jeffrey Epstein.
I have worked with childhood trauma survivors for over three decades. At some point in the therapeutic process, many of my clients ask to take their perpetrator to a session with the specific aim of asking the perpetrator, “Why me?” .
Even when researchers interview convicted child molesters and ask how they find their victims, they confirm that they are choosing the child who appears most vulnerable. They linger where kids congregate, including parks, school playgrounds, and shopping malls, and within 15 seconds they can choose their next victim. They seek and target the child who appears isolated and separated from the group, then lure them into a relationship with the promise of friendship. Building a trusting relationship is a critical step in the grooming process because it is precisely this trust that the perpetrator will manipulate and exploit.
It was estimated that Jeffrey Epstein had three to four sexual encounters a day, and it was Maxwell’s job to recruit, befriend, and groom young girls to facilitate sexual encounters for Epstein. Ghislaine was attractive, bright, charming, engaging, and educated. She wore high fashion attire and lived in a multimillion-dollar home in prestigious Palm Beach, Florida. On the days Ghislaine was looking for her victims, she drove her limousine over the bridge to West Palm Beach, a less privileged community. Similar to the tactics of other perpetrators, she stayed near parks and schoolyards with the specific aim of attracting young girls. She was accompanied by her Yorkie. Her little dog did the trick to get attention and start a conversation with girls, many of whom were only 14 years old.
As with other perpetrators, Ghislaine Maxwell was adept and skilled at exploiting these young girls’ vulnerabilities. All of their victims came from families who were stressed, faced financial problems, and / or lacked funds. Many of the girls had a history of neglect and / or abuse and were under the legal age to consent.
One victim, Virginia Roberts, said when she revealed to Ghislaine that she was sexually abused by her grandfather and her mother was an addict. Ghislaine grinned like a Cheshire Cat. The metaphor of the Cheshire Cat’s grin conjures up the image of a broad smile, accompanied by an undertone of threatening malice. In most adults, this young girl’s circumstances would evoke empathy and a desire for protection. However, this was not the case with Ghislaine. Instead, I would assume Ghislaine had felt a sense of satisfaction since her mission was accomplished; she had just found her newest victim. Virginia was young, alone, defenseless, and traumatized by the people in her family who should keep her safe and keep her from harm. Maxwell knew Virginia was the perfect victim.
Another victim, Jane (the pen name she used in court to protect her identity), said Maxwell cared for her for almost a year. Ghislaine visited her once or twice a week, buying her clothes, talking to her about her life and dreams, taking her out to dinner and buying her presents. To create the illusion of a family and to imply a special relationship and deep bond, Ghislaine told Jane that she felt like her older sister. Sometimes Maxwell would offer Jane money and encourage her to take it because “her mother needed it”.
It is not uncommon for the perpetrator to also care for the targeted victim’s mothers and other family members. Epstein and Maxwell invited Jane and her mother to tea at their Palm Beach estate. The meeting lasted 30 minutes. Epstein told Jane’s mother that he was impressed with her daughter and thought she was very talented. He offered to sponsor their education and training. Epstein also signed a lease for Jane’s mother so that she and her children could rent an apartment in Manhattan. For a mother who recently lost her husband to cancer, had financial problems, and lived with her children in a friend’s pool house, Epstein’s offer of sponsorship and support must have felt like a dream come true, shining a light on a very dark time of her life .
All of Epstein and Maxwell’s victims share a similar story; They were told that they would be hired to give Jeffrey Epstein a massage and be paid $ 300 for it. However, the massages soon escalated and became sexual. For Jane this was the first time she saw the body of a naked man, her first sexual experience. She said she was scared and ashamed. Maxwell was sometimes present and watched her, and sometimes she participated in sexual activities. One victim recalled Ghislaine undressing to model and normalize sexual activity.
Epstein and Maxwell were involved in what is known as a “Pyramid Plan of Abuse”. It was a system used to recruit a steady stream of underage girls into the sexual exploits of Epstein and Maxwell. Epstein would offer his current victim’s additional money to any girl they would recruit to give him “a massage”. When victims tried to end their involvement to ensure their silence, Maxwell and Epstein’s people hired to follow them and / or their families, molest them, and even threaten them. All of the girls who testified said they were scared, confused and feared for their lives, which drove them to remain silent.
There are approximately 166 million women in the United States. According to statistics, every fourth woman is sexually abused before she is 18 years old; this means that approximately 41 million women in the United States have a history of child sexual abuse. I am sure that many, like my clients, have been closely watching the Ghislaine Maxwell trial and waiting to see if the courts continue to reflect the long-term denial of abuse in this country, implicitly condoning and sanctioning the continued abuse of children. However, the verdict stands: Ghislaine was convicted on five of the six child trafficking charges. For many of their victims, the purpose of their testimony was not to seek revenge, as many survivors know that revenge brings no comfort. Instead, comfort comes in telling their story, being heard, and seeing the perpetrator held accountable for their behavior. What brings relief is the experience of being heard and recognized, and the sense of justice, knowing that Ghislaine will be held accountable and even punished for the violence she has committed – thereby ending her ability to harm other children .