YOUNG women who suddenly appeared with no explanation at an Epstein-funded event with Stephen Hawking were likely victims of the paedophile financier, a Nobel physicist has claimed.
Phillip Peebles said he had when he travelled to St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands for the March 2006 gathering.
Photographs show Hawking at the Ritz-Carlton with women said to be his carers, according to his estateCredit: Department of Justice
Nobel physicist Phillip Peebles claimed young women at an Epstein-funded event were likely his victimsCredit: AFP
Peebles said he was unaware of Epstein’s activities when he travelled to St. Thomas for the March 2006 eventCredit: AFP
But speaking years later, he said one episode from the trip now troubles him.
Peebles told The Times : “Between talks, discussions, we would gather for coffee and mill about, very standard.
“At one time there appeared comely young women who stood about, not saying anything. I couldn’t imagine what they were doing.”
The Nobel prize winner estimated there were “six to ten” women.
They appeared “younger than any of the women [scientists] taking part in the conference”, though he said he could not judge their ages.
“Were they 25? Were they 15? I had no idea,” he said.
At the time, Peebles said, their presence seemed unusual but not alarming, adding: “It was unusual. No question about that. It did not raise any alarm bells. It was puzzling at the moment, but then I more or less forgot about it.”
After Epstein’s arrest and the subsequent revelations about his abuse of underage girls and young women, he reassessed what he had seen.
“I take it for granted that these young women were part of his collection of people who suffered,” Peebles said.
The event, titled The Energy of Empty Space That Isn’t Zero, was reportedly funded by Epstein.
It was held at the five-star Ritz-Carlton on St Thomas, where rooms can cost more than $1,600 a night.
It brought together more than 20 eminent physicists to discuss how to reconcile Einstein’s theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics.
Stephen Hawking delivered a speech on Quantum Cosmology during the symposium.
He later died in 2018 aged 76, having lived with motor neurone disease for more than 50 years.
Photographs released in the latest tranche of Epstein files show clutching cocktails at what his family say was the Ritz-Carlton in 2006.
The image was included in .
A spokesperson for the Hawking family said: “Professor Hawking made some of the greatest contributions to physics in the 20th century while at the same time being the longest-known survivor of motor neurone disease, a debilitating condition which left him reliant on a ventilator, voice synthesiser, wheelchair and round-the-clock medical care.
During the 2006 trip, Hawking was given a submarine tour of the seabed around Epstein’s islandCredit: Department of Justice
Hawking pictured at a barbecue in 2006 in the Epstein files, but there is no suggestion that Hawking’s appearance in the files implies wrongdoingCredit: Department of Justice
“Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct on his part is wrong and far-fetched in the extreme.”
His estate said the women pictured were his long-term British carers, who travelled everywhere with him.
There is no suggestion that Hawking’s appearance in the files implies wrongdoing.
Peebles said the conference had been presented as a serious academic event backed by a wealthy benefactor interested in establishing an “institute for advanced study” in the Virgin Islands.
“It was a good one,” he said. “We each spoke … it was serious and intense discussion.”
As far as he was aware, Epstein himself was not present for much of the meeting.
However, attendees reportedly took a boat trip to picnic on Epstein’s nearby private island, Little St James, .
Photographs later emerged showing Hawking at a barbecue on the island.
He was also given a tour of the seabed in a submarine allegedly modified so he could take part.
The scientist, who had lived with severe physical disability for decades, had never previously been underwater.
Hawking is referenced more than 250 times in the documents released by the DOJ, but being mentioned does not imply any wrongdoing.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking chargesCredit: Getty
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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