An American photographer who was booked to capture Jeffrey Epstein for a story in 2015 has revealed how he received threats and intimidation to kill the piece.
Christopher Anderson has shared his experience and unseen images of the convicted sex offender from when he was assigned by New York Magazine to photograph him to accompany an article that was due to be published.
"I didn't know much about him, other than the fact that he had heavy connections to powerful men," Anderson said in a social media post.
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Anderson said Epstein wanted to meet before the photoshoot to negotiate buying the images after publication, as he did not want anyone to have them after they were published by the magazine.
He said a young woman with an Eastern European accent answered the door, who he later saw setting up a massage table in another room, followed by his private secretary, Lesley Groff.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DTLQwZ6jTLq/?hl=en&img_index=1Anderson said Epstein offered him $US20,000, an arrangement which was greenlit by New York Magazine.
"It was all the money in the world to me at the time. I had a young family and lived basically month to month," he said.
"He wrote a personal check and handed it to me."
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But their short-lived professional relationship took a turn several days later when the financier decided to pull out of the story.
Epstein called to demand the photos, Anderson said, but he refused to hand them over, saying they were not his until after publication.
"Then the threats started," he said.
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Anderson claimed Epstein sent his bodyguard and driver Merwin, described as a "massive guy in a long black overcoat and black, leather gloves", to his studio to intimidate him.
He said it worked.
"The magazine killed the story, too. So I cashed the check and Merwin came by again to collect the hard drive and make sure I didn't have any more copies of the photos," he said.
The photos were buried.
Until today, when Anderson found a copy on an old hard drive.
He has shared the six images on social media, which include framed photos of Richard Branson, Bill Clinton and Woody Allen, a black-and-white close-up and Epstein making a call at a desk behind a stuffed tiger.
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One of the images contains a printed email on his desk of an exchange between Epstein and the UK royal office concerning payment from a duke and duchess.
Epstein does not refer to the duke or duchess by name but addresses wages paid to John O'Sullivan, who was Sarah Ferguson's former personal assistant.
The email is addressed to Amanda Thirsk, who was a long-time private secretary of the former Prince Andrew.
Now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, he was the Duke of York before his brother, King Charles, stripped him of his royal titles, duties and lodgings late last year over renewed scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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