Prince Andrew denies witnessing any inappropriate behaviour from Jeffrey Epstein in 2010
- The British royal is under heavy fire for his close ties with the convicted paedophile, who was found dead in his jail cell earlier this month
- The prince said it was a mistake to visit Epstein after his release from jail in 2010 following a sentence for procuring an underage girl for prostitution
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Britain’s Prince Andrew on Saturday responded to intense media scrutiny of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein in a a statement denying any knowledge of criminal behaviour by of the convicted US paedophile.
“At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction,” Andrew said in the written statement, referring to Epstein’s 2008 conviction after pleading guilty to prostitution-related state charges.
Epstein served 13 months behind bars. Andrew again said it was a “mistake” to visit Epstein after his release in 2010.
Queen Elizabeth’s second son also expressed “tremendous sympathy” for Epstein’s victims.
Prince Andrew seen getting foot massage from woman at Epstein’s flat: report
Saying he wanted to clarify their “association”, Andrew said, “I met Mr Epstein in 1999. During the time I knew him, I saw him infrequently and probably no more than only once or twice a year. I have stayed in a number of his residences”.
Saturday’s statement was not the first time Andrew has commented on Epstein.
Earlier this month, Andrew rejected suggestions he may have been involved in Epstein’s crimes. That statement came after the Mail on Sunday newspaper obtained a December 6, 2010, video showing Andrew inside Epstein’s New York home waving goodbye to a young woman. The video was recorded after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
Epstein died in a federal jail in Manhattan on August 10 as he awaited trial charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.
A coroner ruled that he died from suicide by hanging.
Virginia Giuffre – previously Virginia Roberts – one of Epstein’s alleged victims, has testified that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew in London when she was 17. She said she had sex with him again in New York and on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.
But the allegations were struck from the record by a US judge in 2015, who said the “lurid details” were not needed to decide a civil case concerning Epstein.
Buckingham Palace has repeatedly and strenuously denied the claims, calling them “false and without foundation”.
The prince said he deplored “the exploitation of any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such behaviour”.
