Articles by Emily Crane

Technology

Jeffrey Epstein confirmed photo of then-Prince Andrew and accuser Virginia Giuffre is real

Jeffrey Epstein appeared to confirm in leaked emails that the infamous photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor posing with his teenage sex accuser, Virginia Giuffre, was legit — despite the disgraced ex-prince repeatedly suggesting it was fake. The convicted pedophile’s mentions of Andrew were among those laid bare in the trove of documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. In an email exchange with a reporter in 2011, Epstein acknowledged that the then-royal had been snapped in a photo with Giuffre, the BBC reported. “Yes she was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have,” Epstein wrote as he trashed Giuffre’s credibility. An ill-famed photo taken around 2001 had captured a smiling Andrew with his arm wrapped around Giuffre’s waist as Epstein’s madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, stood next to them. Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier in April, had long claimed Epstein and Maxwell forced her to have sex with Andrew when she was just 17 years old. Andrew, who has long denied the allegations, repeatedly tried to sow doubt about the controversial photo’s authenticity over the years. “I have no recollection of that photograph ever having been taken,” a defiant Andrew said in a trainwreck 2019 BBC interview that led to him being booted from royal duties. “It’s a photograph of a photograph of a photograph,” Andrew continued. “Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored.” He later bizarrely reasoned that the snap, which Giuffre said was taken in Maxwell’s London mansion, couldn’t possibly be real — because he didn’t dole out hugs as a royal. “I’m terribly sorry, but if I, as a member of the royal family, and I have a photograph taken — and I take very, very few photographs — I am not one to, um, as it were, hug,” he said. “Public displays of affection are not something that, that I do. So. That’s the best explanation I can give you.”

Europe joins Trump in squeezing more sanctions on Russia as Ukraine war rages on

The European Union joined the US in heaping more economic sanctions on Russia Thursday — adding to President Trump’s latest punitive measures to choke off the revenue that’s funding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. EU countries formally adopted the sanctions — including a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports — as part of a broadened...

Technology

High school baseball star who pleaded no contest to string of rapes walks free — sparking outrage from parents, lawmakers

An Oklahoma teen who was facing nearly 80 years behind bars after being convicted of raping and assaulting two high school girlfriends has dodged prison altogether under a shocking sweetheart plea deal — sparking outrage among the victims’ parents and lawmakers. Jesse Mack Butler, 18, escaped jail time last week over the spate of sick attacks on the two 16-year-old girls in Stillwater in early 2024 — including one that left one victim close to death after being choked unconscious, News9 reported. Initially, Butler — then 17 — was charged as an adult and was slapped with 10 felony counts, including rape, attempted rape, sexual battery and assault. The baseball player pleaded not guilty to all charges but later struck a deal with the district attorney’s office to change his status from adult to youthful offender Butler, who is the son of a prominent local sport coach, switched his plea to no contest after a judge signed off on the deal. Under local laws, the youth plea deal meant Butler was sentenced last week to just one year of rehabilitation and community service — despite facing roughly 78 years in the slammer. “It’s appalling,” the mother of one of the victims told Daily Mail of the slap-on-the-wrist sentence.“I received similar punishments for breaking curfew when I was a teenager,” she added. “It’s a complete injustice to these girls and to future victims, because unfortunately, statistically, it won’t end. Not only are you giving a slap in the face to these survivors, you are potentially putting other women at risk by not holding him accountable.” The mom of the second victim also ripped the “joke” punishment. “It’s not equivalent to what he did to them,” she said. “I told the DA, I don’t want him to get away with this, because I cannot know that another mother is going to have to go through what I went through,” she continued. “By giving him youthful offender status, all the prison time went away.” The attacks on the two girls unfolded early last year when they each dated the sports star, according to court documents. The first victim told investigators that Butler repeatedly raped her and strangled her when she tried to refuse during their three-month relationship. Her doctor said she had to undergo surgery to repair the damage to her neck after being choked — and that she would have died if the strangulation had lasted another 30 seconds, the court papers charged. The other victim reported that she, too, had been strangled until she passed out. Police later found a video on Butler’s phone of him choking the girl. Oklahoma State Representative Justin JJ Humphrey told News Nation’ “Banfield” that the entire saga showed the court system was “corrupt.” “How in the world did this judge get to this,” he said. “If that doesn’t fire you up, there’s something wrong.” “The laws are there but what do you do when they don’t follow them? Does this sound like justice?” he continued.