Stuti Gokhale
Socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s life has always been controversial, yet it all came crashing down when her involvement with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein came to light. Netflix’s ‘Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich’ explores how she reportedly coerced and groomed numerous minor girls over several years, pushing them into sexual abuse by Jeffrey. Among the many people who share their experiences in the compelling documentary, survivor Sarah Ransome’s harrowing account cannot be missed. If you wish to know more about her and how she’s doing today, we’ve you covered.
Who is Sarah Ransome?
Raised by British parents in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sarah Ransome had a turbulent childhood. While her mother was battling alcohol addiction, she was sexually assaulted twice at ages 11 and 14. Despite several abusive relationships, a suicide attempt, and financial struggles, Sarah wished to succeed in life, and thus, she arrived in New York in 2006 to study fashion design. There, she was approached by a young woman in a club, who quickly befriended her and introduced her to Jeffrey Epstein.
The financier claimed to see potential in the Johannesburg native and indicated that he could help her get admission to her dream fashion school. Excited to impress Jeffrey and better her professional future, 22-year-old Sarah soon accepted an invitation from him to accompany him, his close associate Ghislaine, and some other girls to his private island. However, things turned awry when she noticed his unabashed sexual behavior with the other girls on his private jet.
Yet, Sarah shared in the documentary that the worst happened on that trip when suddenly, one day, Ghislaine dragged her by the arm and forced her into Jeffrey’s room. She divulged that the financier raped her, and this abuse then went on for almost a year on the island and in New York, wherein not just he but even some of his business associates would sexually assault her and the other girls repeatedly.
Sarah added that Ghislaine was utterly supportive of Jeffrey’s actions and was the one who recruited and trained the girls to please him. Traumatized and trapped, the 22-year-old tried escaping and was successful the second time when Jeffrey sent her to South Africa to find and hire him a personal assistant. Instead, she fled to New York and evaded him, eventually going into hiding and moving on with life.
Sarah Ransome is a Strong Advocate for Abuse Survivors Today
Sarah came forward with her story in 2016, and the following year, she filed a suit against Ghislaine and Jeffrey, stating that the former had allegedly hired her to give massages to the financier. Not just that, the two had reportedly threatened to harm her family and ruin her career if she didn’t give in to their sexual demands. Sarah later claimed that when she had gone into hiding in Spain during her deposition in 2017, Jeffrey had tracked her down to threaten her. Furthermore, her constant mental distress led her to attempt suicide twice, in 2008 and 2018.
Nevertheless, the lawsuit was settled in 2018 under undisclosed terms. While Jeffrey died by suicide in prison in 2019, Ghislaine was finally arrested and charged the following year. Although Sarah had many grievances against the socialite, she did not testify in court against her. Still, she arrived in the US to attend the trial and show solidarity with the other survivors but was reportedly denied entry on the first day.
Sarah shared that she hoped to face Ghislaine and remind her of the damage she’d caused, but that was sadly taken away from her. Despite not testifying in the trial, she published her memoir ‘Silenced No More: Surviving My Journey to Hell and Back’ in December 2021, detailing her painful experiences with Ghislaine and Jeffrey. Luckily, Sarah did get to deliver a victim impact statement at Ghislaine’s sentencing in June 2022.
The survivor has also dedicated her life to being a spokesperson for abuse survivors and hopes to use her experiences and resources to help them. Moreover, Sarah divulged in the documentary that she still struggles with severe trauma and anxiety due to her painful past ordeal and hopes to heal someday. As per reports, she currently resides in Europe and prefers to lead a private life surrounded by loved ones.
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