Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is pictured posing with one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers – part of the well-connected sex offender’s use of photos to manipulate the women he abused and control the narrative around his nefarious behavior, according to a new report.
The photo — believed to be among the first to show Gates with Epstein’s alleged victim — was allegedly taken by the shady financier himself at Gates’ Seattle office in March 2014, years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting and procuring minors for prostitution, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In an image published by the Journal Sunday, Gates is seen smiling and fiddling with the zip of his dark quarter-zip sweater as a woman identified as a Polish model, then in her 20s, stands by his side in a gray jacket and blue scarf with her chest almost pressed on him.
The woman, whose face was obscured in the published photo, told the Journal she met Epstein, a registered sex offender, months before the photo was taken and he then quickly began showering her with promises that he could help her career with his strong relationship. .
At least three other photos exist that allegedly show Gates with Epstein’s accuser, the Journal reported, saying it reviewed images of the Russian model who claims she was abused by Epstein posing with the tech giant at locations including the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City and Epstein’s Upper Townhouse. East Side.
Gates, 68, is not the only famous figure to appear in a photo that has just emerged with Epstein’s alleged victim, who hanged himself in a Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates pictured with one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers in March 2014. ZUMAPRESS.com
The Polish model was also pictured with director Woody Allen at Epstein’s townhouse, with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud in 2014, and with former CBS News reporter Charlie Rose, among others, according to the Journal.
The model has not accused Gates or any other man of sexual misconduct.
But his attorney told the Journal that even without his knowledge, Epstein used his powerful connections to further his alleged sex-trafficking operation.
“Without having legitimate connections to so many high-powered people, Jeffrey Epstein would not have been able to distribute most of these women after 2008,” said Brad Edwards, who with his law firm partner Brittany Henderson represented the models and more than 150 of Epstein’s accusers.
The photo was taken six years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File
“He used powerful people he associated with to further facilitate his sex-trafficking scheme, whether they knew it or not,” Henderson added. “He uses everyone around him to create this facade of legitimacy.”
A number of Epstein’s accusers have previously been seen in photos with powerful men, including the now-famous photo of Britain’s Prince Andrew with his arm around then-17-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s bare waist, with Epstein’s convicted mistress Ghislaine Maxwell smiling in the background.
Another photo shows former President Bill Clinton getting massages from Epstein’s former employee and accuser Chauntae Davies during a ride on Epstein’s private jet, known as the “Lolita Express.”
In the cases of the Polish and Russian models, Epstein collected images of young women with business leaders and other prominent men, telling them the photos could advance their careers — but then used those images to support his narrative of strong connections, which he then used to attract more victims. , the Journal reported.
Gates was photographed with Epstein in the sex offender’s Manhattan apartment in 2011.
The models told the newspaper that Epstein would push them to post the images to their social media accounts, and then would tie them together with the promise of work through the connection.
But those promises are almost always kept in the end.
For the Polish model, Epstein’s long-winded promises ended with an offer to be the mistress of one of his friends, which he said could earn him millions, he told the newspaper.
She turned down the offer shortly before fleeing back to Poland in 2015, only for Epstein to use a photo of her with Gates to try to lure her back.
He sent her a snap in March 2015, telling her that instead of the life she used to live, “now you’re back in your room, because you’re just following your own advice,” the report said.
“My impression is that being a mistress is the only job proposal you are really serious about,” she wrote to him a few months later. “Meeting Gates or Woody was great – thank you – will never forget it – although no one hired me just because I had a nice picture with them.”
Gates previously acknowledged and expressed regret for having several meetings with Epstein in the 2010s — after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida — as part of efforts to raise money for the Gates Foundation.
A representative for Gates reiterated that the businessman and philanthropist “only ever met with Epstein for philanthropic purposes, which he regrets.”
“Epstein tried, unsuccessfully, to connect himself with Mr. Gates in any way possible, including spontaneously bringing in people to take pictures with Bill, whom Bill did not know or interact with further,” the spokesperson said.
Prince Andrew with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell. DOJ
Allen, in a statement to the Journal, said he was never aware that Epstein was using Allen’s name to manipulate victims.
“Never has he ever asked me to cast anyone in a film – and I never did,” says the director.
A representative for Wexner, whose estate Epstein managed for years before being hit with a sex crime in 2006, said the billionaire “severed all ties with Epstein in 2007 and never spoke to him again.”
Epstein poses with former President Bill Clinton.
Epstein is constantly meeting new potential victims to engage in fraud and abuse, often targeting young women from Russia and eastern Europe who have a history of sexual abuse.
Many would be given piles of cash from Epstein, assurances that their visas would be taken care of, that he would pay for their education in the US or that they would be housed in an apartment near his townhouse, the Journal reported.
Soon, however, they found themselves flown to Epstein’s private Caribbean island where they would be forced to spend their days naked, the report said.
She would advise some people to abandon their modeling goals and consider massage therapy, which she told them to practice.
During those massage sessions, Epstein often initiated his sexual assaults, according to the victim.
“He knew they wouldn’t report it because they were trained not to report abuse,” Henderson, the victim’s lawyer, told the Journal, adding that Epstein engaged in “dangerous mental manipulation” that exploited their insecurities and pasts to gain control. them.
The Russian model told the newspaper that she was constantly harassed by Epstein about her weight – sometimes told she needed to lose weight, then told she needed to put it back on, even though she was around 5ft 10in and only 130lbs.
“There was always something wrong with my body.”
While his promises of help turned to abuse, Epstein left a paper trail that seemed to reinforce the image he had created of himself as a champion of women looking for their big break.
Epstein walks with Woody Allen in 2013 in Manhattan. Elder Ordonez / SplashNews.com
He demanded written thank-you notes from the women every time he did something for them, the Russian model told the Journal, and would force them to smile while he took nude photos and filmed them.
“It’s almost like he’s documenting everything so we can’t go against him,” the woman said.
“If you don’t smile and be positive, he’ll give you a lecture, because then you act ungrateful,” he added. “And that letter of thanks, I’m sure he used it as another assurance that we wouldn’t go against him.”
No matter how much they thanked him or what they did for him, Epstein’s promises always failed.
“After several years in JE circles, none of us had anything legitimate to add to our resumes, and none of the jobs he promised ever materialized,” said the Russian model.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
