Britain’s Prince Andrew on Friday rejected Virginia Giuffre’s accusations that he sexually abused her greater than 20 years in the past when she was 17, and urged a U.S. choose to dismiss her civil lawsuit.
In filings with the U.S. District Court docket in Manhattan, the Duke of York known as Giuffre’s “baseless” lawsuit an effort to “obtain one other payday” from her accusations towards the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
Andrew, 61, who’s Queen Elizabeth’s second son, additionally mentioned he was launched from legal responsibility underneath a 2009 settlement settlement between Giuffre and Epstein, a registered intercourse offender.
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He mentioned that settlement lined “royalty,” amongst others, and that Epstein had insisted it cowl “any and all individuals” who Giuffre would possibly sue.
“Virginia Giuffre might be a sufferer of sexual abuse by the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, and nothing can excuse, nor absolutely seize, the abhorrence and gravity of Epstein’s monstrous habits towards Giuffre, in that case,” Andrew’s attorneys wrote.
“Nonetheless, and with out diminishing the hurt suffered because of Epstein’s alleged misconduct, Prince Andrew by no means sexually abused or assaulted Giuffre,” they added. “He unequivocally denies Giuffre’s false allegations towards him.”
David Boies, a lawyer for Giuffre, mentioned in an announcement that Andrew’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit “fails to confront the intense allegations” it contained.
He additionally mentioned the settlement settlement “on its face” applies “at most” to individuals concerned in underlying litigation in Florida, thereby excluding the prince.
“Prince Andrew’s try now to make use of the 2009 launch as a get out of jail free card reveals how determined he’s to dodge and duck the information of what he did,” Boies mentioned.
Epstein killed himself at age 66 in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 whereas awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking expenses.
Constitutional problem
Giuffre, 38, sued Andrew for unspecified damages in August, accusing him of forcing her to have intercourse on the London dwelling of Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime Epstein affiliate.
She additionally accused Andrew of abusing her at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan, and on considered one of Epstein’s personal islands within the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In Friday’s filings, Andrew’s attorneys mentioned Giuffre had already “purportedly obtained thousands and thousands of {dollars}” from settling a 2015 defamation lawsuit towards Maxwell, the place in response to courtroom papers she had sought $50 million.
The attorneys mentioned they might additionally problem a 2019 New York regulation that gave survivors of childhood sexual abuse a now-closed two-year window to sue their alleged abusers over conduct occurring a few years or a long time earlier.
That regulation allowed Giuffre to pursue her case, however in response to the attorneys disadvantaged the prince of his due course of rights underneath New York’s state structure.
The workplace of New York Legal professional Common Letitia James, the state’s high regulation enforcer, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Andrew has not been charged with crimes.
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He gave up many royal duties and misplaced help from charities and organizations after a disastrous November 2019 BBC interview during which he didn’t seem sympathetic towards Epstein’s victims.
The subsequent listening to in Giuffre’s lawsuit is ready for Nov. 3.
Giuffre was sued individually for $20 million on Thursday for allegedly defaming on Twitter an artist who has mentioned she introduced girls to Epstein however denied being a recruiter.
The artist, Rina Oh Amen, sued over tweets together with that she “procured & partook within the abuse of minors.” Amen known as the tweets “maliciously false,” and mentioned Epstein additionally abused her.
Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not responsible to intercourse trafficking and different expenses for allegedly serving to recruit and groom underage women for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004. Her trial in Manhattan begins on Nov. 29.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Enhancing by Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis)
