Ghislaine Maxwell was allegedly a driving force behind Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking network, not simply an accomplice, according to two writers closely involved in exposing the case.
Speaking at the All About Women event in Sydney on Sunday, British journalist Emily Maitlis and author Amy Wallace reflected on their years of reporting and investigations that helped bring Epstein’s alleged crimes – and the testimony of alleged victim-survivor Virginia Giuffre – into the global spotlight.
When their discussion turned to Maxwell’s role, both suggested the former socialite was not merely an accomplice but a central “architect” of the system that enabled the abuse.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on multiple counts of sex trafficking and conspiracy for her role in recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in the US. According to Wallace, who worked closely with Giuffre while co-authoring and posthumously publishing her memoir “Nobody’s Girl,” Maxwell’s role in the operation was allegedly far more hands-on than the public often realises – even amid the release of the Epstein files.
“She [Maxwell] had the connections,” Wallace said. “Virginia referred to her as an ‘apex predator’, because remember, this is not a woman who just recruited, she had sex with the girls, she forced them to sexually service her. This is not someone who just wanted to keep him [Epstein] happy… She was fully involved in the predation.”
Many alleged survivors, including Giuffre (who died by suicide in 2025), described being initially drawn in by encouragement or promises about their future by Maxwell and Epstein. Being told they had “potential” or that they were “special” felt empowering at first, Wallace explained, before the manipulation and coercion became clear.
That grooming process, Wallace said, often began subtly. Young women were allegedly offered mentorship, travel opportunities, or the promise of connections that could help shape their future. Only later did it shift into something far darker, with survivors realising they had been drawn into a system built around exploitation.
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Maitlis, whose 2019 BBC interview with Prince Andrew is widely seen as a turning point in the public reckoning surrounding Epstein’s network, said the case also exposed widespread misunderstandings about how trafficking and coercion operate. In particular, she pushed back against narratives that attempt to frame victims as willing participants.
“If you’re trafficked, you do not get to choose,” Maitlis said. “If you’re underage, you do not get to choose. If you’re a child, it’s not prostitution. It’s rape.”
The pair also emphasised that while the public has become increasingly aware of the Epstein scandal in recent years, the scale of the operation – and the number of alleged victims involved – remains difficult to fully grasp.
Wallace suggested the trafficking network extended far beyond the handful of high-profile cases that have dominated headlines, noting that many survivors – potentially thousands – have never come forward publicly.