Prince Andrew settles sex abuse lawsuit with accuser Virginia Giuffre
- The financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal requires the British royal to make ‘a substantial donation’ to Giuffre’s charity that supports victim’s rights
- The US woman had alleged that financier Jeffrey Epstein had ‘lent’ her to Prince Andrew for abuse when she was 17
Prince Andrew has reached an agreement to settle claims that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl decades ago, his accuser’s lawyer said in a court filing.
Virginia Giuffre had claimed the British royal was one of several men to whom Jeffrey Epstein “lent” her for abuse. Andrew has consistently denied her claims.
The settlement was announced in a letter on Tuesday to the New York federal judge overseeing the case by Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies, who said it was on behalf of both parties.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal requires Andrew to make “a substantial donation” to Giuffre’s charity that supports victim’s rights.
“Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.” the parties said in a joint statement filed with Boies’s letter.
“It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years,” the statement continued.
“Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”
A UK-based spokesperson for Prince Andrew declined to comment on the settlement beyond the court filing.
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The settlement ends a case that had roiled the British royal family. Andrew was forced to step down from royal duties after a disastrous 2019 BBC interview in which he tried to downplay his friendship with Epstein and socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in December of sex-trafficking underage girls for Epstein.
He was further stripped of military ranks and royal patronages after a US judge denied his motion to dismiss the case last month.
That ruling had meant Andrew would have to sit for depositions and turn over evidence in the case. Giuffre’s lawyers had already sought to subpoena his former personal assistant and a woman who claimed to have seen Andrew with Giuffre in a London nightclub in 2001.
Boies told US District Judge Lewis Kaplan that they expect to file papers formalising the settlement within 30 days. He asked the court to put the litigation on hold until then.
