Prince Andrew has formally denied allegations that he sexually abused Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Somewhat surprisingly, the controversial British royal has also announced that, if Giuffre’s lawsuit is not dismissed, he wants the case to go to trial.
According to CNN, Andrew’s 11-page legal filing responds paragraph by paragraph to the accusations leveled in Giuffre’s civil complaint. As LegalReader.com has reported before, Giuffre claims that the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein trafficked and forced her to have sexual relations with men in several different states and countries.
In her lawsuit, Giuffre alleges that, not only did Prince Andrew sexually abuse her, but that he was aware she was underage when they first met.
Giuffre says she was sexually abused by Andrew on Epstein’s private island in the Virgin Islands; his Manhattan mansion; and Ghislaine Maxwell’s London estate.
However, in a Wednesday filing, Prince Andrew denied all of the allegations.
“Prince Andrew denies that he was a co-conspirator of Epstein or that Epstein trafficked girls to him,” attorneys Andrew B. Brettler and Melissa Lerner wrote on behalf of the royal.
Prince Andrew also said that he was not a “close friend” of convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, nor a “frequent guest” in Epstein’s global properties.
On Giuffre’s other points, Andrew’s attorneys say the prince “lacks sufficient information to admit or deny the allegations.”
However, Andrew did admit meeting Epstein on several occasions between 1999 and 2010, with the latter meeting taking years after Epstein was criminally convicted of sexually abusing underage girls.
One of Giuffre’s attorneys, David Boies, released a statement opining that Prince Andrew is doing what he was done for the last several years: denying any knowledge of his crimes, in spite of the evidence against him.
“We already requested a jury trial,” Boies said, “so that would have happened no matter what he said.”
“Prince Andrew continues his playbook denying any knowledge or information about the claims despite photographic evidence and third party testimony to the contrary. He also continues his pattern trying to blame the victim for her abuse,” Boies said.
“Prince Andrew’s answer continues his approach of denying any knowledge or information concerning the claims against him, and purporting to blame the victim of the abuse for somehow bringing it on herself,” Boies said. “We look forward to confronting Prince Andrew with his denials and attempts to blame Ms. Giuffre for her own abuse at his deposition and trial.”
Sources
Prince Andrew denies sexual abuse allegations and demands jury trial in Virginia Giuffre lawsuit
Prince Andrew wants a jury trial if Virginia Giuffre lawsuit is not dismissed
Join the conversation!