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The father of Jeffrey Epstein's 'secret' British girlfriend has admitted that her family knew she had dated the disgraced paedophile.

Shelley Anne Lewis, 43, was in a relationship for three years with Epstein when Prince Andrew is accused of sleeping with sex trafficked teenager Virginia Roberts.

The Manchester-born 'spiritual entrepreneur', who is believed to have taken scores on flights on Epstein's 'Lolita Express' private jet, could now be approached by prosecutors to find out what she knows.

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Shelley Anne Lewis (left), 43, was in a relationship for three years with Epstein when Prince Andrew is accused of sleeping with sex trafficked teenager Virginia Roberts

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The blonde entrepreneur has been named in court papers in the US relating to Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured with Jeffrey Epstein) that were unsealed by a Manhattan court last week 

Asked by MailOnline if the family knew of her relationship with Epstein, her father Brian Lewis, 71, said: 'It is a difficult question to answer.

'As a young girl we knew she was seeing someone in New York.

'So yes we did'.

Speaking at the family's sprawling million-pound plus sprawling cottage near affluent Knutsford, Cheshire the retired businessman added: 'Now everything has gone mental.

'It is just getting crazy'.

One neighbour said: 'It's shocking that she's caught up with Epstein.

'The family are very nice and will be horrified to be linked to that man.'

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Virginia Roberts claims she had sex three times with Prince Andrew (pictured) when she was a teenager after meeting him on a trip to London with Epstein and Maxwell in 2001 

Ms Lewis could be set to be asked for help by prosecutors in the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, 58, the British socialite who denies procuring girls for Epstein and faces trial in the United States next July.

There is no suggestion that Ms Lewis was aware of or took part in any criminality.

She grew up in the Cheshire countryside and once worked in the contemporary art department of Christie's auction house in New York.

There aged 22 she started dating Epstein in 1999 when he was a 46-year-old businessman until 2002.

Ms Lewis, who divides her time between London and New York, has so far been unavailable for comment but in previous interviews she has described how she was helped by a 'mentor' in New York who 'was so original in all his thought processes that he couldn't even see the box.'

She now runs a firm that hosts yoga retreats in America and previously owned companies offering 'lifestyle guru' courses to clients.

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Mrs Roberts claims she had sex three times with Prince Andrew three times when she was a teenager> He vehemently denies the claim

The blonde entrepreneur has been named in court papers in the US relating to Ghislaine Maxwell that were unsealed by a Manhattan court last week. 'Shelley' was named in an email from Maxwell to Epstein.

Mrs Roberts claims she had sex three times with Prince Andrew three times when she was a teenager after meeting him on a trip to London with Epstein and Maxwell in 2001.

He vehemently denies the claim.

Maxwell is in custody in the US charged with trafficking minors for her former partner Epstein.