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Virginia Giuffre Sues Prince Andrew For Alleged Sexual Abuse
Virginia Giuffre, one of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's most vocal accusers, has alleged Prince Andrew sexually abused her on three separate occasions.
Vocal Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre has filed a federal lawsuit against the United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew for alleged sexual abuse.
“In this country no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law, and no person, no matter how powerless or vulnerable, can be deprived of the law’s protection,” the lawsuit obtained by Oxygen.com stated. “Twenty years ago Prince Andrew’s wealth, power, position, and connections enabled him to abuse a frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her. It is long past the time for him to be held to account.”
Giuffre has accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her as a minor on three separate occasions while in the company of Epstein and his alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell.
“In addition to being abused by Epstein himself, Plaintiff was also forced to have sex with Defendant, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, at Epstein and Maxwell’s direction,” the court documents allege.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, which her attorneys have argued was “severe and lasting.”
Giuffre has been one of Epstein’s most outspoken accusers, publicly alleging the now-deceased financier of sex trafficking herself and other minors.
Her attorneys have argued that Epstein used his immense wealth and power to “create a web of transcontinental sex trafficking that served himself, his coconspirators, and some of the most powerful people in the world” and said Epstein often flew Giuffre across the world to sexually abuse her between 2000 and 2002.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August of 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from allegations made by Giuffre and dozens of victims.
According to the lawsuit, Epstein and Maxwell also forced Giuffre to participate in sex acts with Prince Andrew.
On one occasion the lawsuit alleges that Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew “forced” her to “have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will” at Maxwell’s London home. The court documents include a photograph her attorneys say was taken that night showing Prince Andrew with his arm wrapped around Giuffre as Maxwell smiles nearby.
In another instance at Epstein’s New York mansion, Giuffre’s attorneys said Giuffre and another underage girl were forced to sit on Prince Andrew’s lap as he touched her.
“During his visit to New York, Prince Andrew forced Plaintiff to engage in sex acts against her will,” the lawsuit said.
Her attorneys said she was allegedly sexually abused by the prince a third time at Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“Prince Andrew’s actions, described above, constitute extreme and outrageous conduct that shocks the conscience,” the lawsuit alleges.” Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse of a child who he knew was a sex-trafficking victim, and when he was approximately 40 years old, goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is intolerable in a civilized community.”
A spokesperson for Prince Andrew told ABC News they would not be commenting on the lawsuit, however, Buckingham Palace has vehemently denied the allegations in the past.
“It is emphatically denied that [Prince Andrew] had any form of sexual contact or relationship with [Giuffre]. The allegations made are false and without any foundation,” the palace said in a statement when Giuffre first went public with her allegations in 2014.
Prince Andrew also denied the accusations himself in a 2019 interview with the BBC.
"I've said consistently and frequently that we never had any sort of sexual contact whatever," he said, also later suggesting the photo of the pair may have been doctored.
Giuffre filed the federal lawsuit in New York just before an expiration date for a New York state law allowing alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse to file civil suits past the normal statute of limitations, according to ABC News.
“I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me,” Giuffre said in a statement to Oxygen.com. “The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions. I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one’s life by speaking out and demanding justice.”
Giuffre is now 38-years-old and living in Australia with her family.
“I did not come to this decision lightly,” she said of her decision to file the suit. “As a mother and a wife, my family comes first—and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates—but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down.”
Maxwell, a British socialite who reportedly introduced Prince Andrew to Epstein, is currently being held in a federal jail awaiting trial this fall for sex trafficking, conspiracy and perjury for her alleged role in the operation. She has pleaded not guilty in the case.
A recent docuseries, "Epstein's Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell," explores her life and connection with the disgraced financier. It's available to stream on Peacock and will be airing on Oxygen Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 8/7c.
