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Agence France-Presse

Britain’s Prince Andrew faces a crucial week in his fight against a sexual assault lawsuit brought in New York by a long-time accuser of late financier Jeffrey Epstein and his one-time partner Ghislaine Maxwell.
The release of a legal settlement on Monday and oral arguments in the case on Tuesday come after socialite Maxwell was convicted last week of sex trafficking minors for Epstein.
Virginia Giuffre alleges that Epstein, a money manager who killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019, lent her out for sex with his wealthy and powerful associates, including Andrew.
She has sued the British royal for unspecified damages, alleging he sexually assaulted her in 2001 when she was 17 and a minor under American law.
Prince Andrew asked to prove he couldn’t sweat in sex assault case
The 61-year-old Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s second son, has not been criminally charged and has repeatedly and strenuously denied the allegations.
A 2009 settlement between Epstein and Giuffre is due to be made public by a New York court on Monday.
Andrew’s lawyers have claimed that the agreement protects the prince and others from being sued by Giuffre.
They hope it will be sufficient grounds for a judge to dismiss her lawsuit against the royal.

On Tuesday, New York judge Lewis Kaplan will hear oral arguments on whether to throw out the suit. The hearing will be held via videoconference.
Attempts by Andrew’s lawyers to halt progression of the lawsuit on the grounds that Giuffre now lives in Australia were rejected by Kaplan on Friday.
The day before, Giuffre’s lawyers demanded that Andrew hand over medical records proving that he is unable to sweat.
In a disastrous 2019 interview with the BBC, the royal denied Giuffre’s claim that they had shared a sweaty dance at a London nightclub, saying that at the time he could not sweat due to a condition related to having fought in the 1982 Falklands War.
The legal developments come as Andrew finds himself under fresh pressure after his friend Maxwell was found guilty on Wednesday of recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein to abuse.
She faces life behind bars after being convicted by New York jurors of five of the six counts she faced following a high-profile month-long trial.
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of setting up girls for Epstein sex abuse
Giuffre says Prince Andrew assaulted her at Epstein’s home in New York, and on his private island in the US Virgin Islands.
She alleges that Andrew also sexually abused her at the London home of Maxwell, who introduced the royal to Epstein in the early 1990s.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 after being charged with child sex trafficking charges, in what New York’s coroner ruled was a suicide.
Andrew has rarely been seen in public since he was forced to quit the royal frontline later that year for failing to distance himself from the disgraced financier.
Kaplan said in November that Giuffre’s lawsuit against Andrew could go before a New York jury towards the end of 2022.


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United States

Prince Andrew accuser’s deal with Jeffrey Epstein to be made public by New York court

Britain’s Prince Andrew. Photo: AFP

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell (right) with financier Jeffrey Epstein. File photo: US Attorney Office via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of setting up girls for Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse

An image of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein was introduced as evidence at Maxwell’s trial. Photo: US Department of Justice via TNS

Defence lawyers Bobbi Sternheim and Christian Everdell speak with Ghislaine Maxwell during her trial in New York on Wednesday. Courtroom sketch: Jane Rosenberg via Reuters

Audrey Strauss, acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during a news conference in July 2020. Photo: AP

An expanded jury box, with socially-distanced seating and individual screens for each juror, is seen in a courtroom at a Manhattan federal courthouse in March. Photo: AP

Life at Jeffrey Epstein’s estate: Ghislaine Maxwell kept photos of topless girls, aide testifies

Ghislaine Maxwell attends a symposium in New York in September 2013. Photo: AFP

epa08523985 Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss speaks during a news conference to announce charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her alleged role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein in New York, USA, 02 July 2020. EPA-EFE/JASON SZENES ALTERNATIVE CROP

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell

FILE PHOTO: Lawyer David Boies arrives with his client Virginia Giuffre for hearing in the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein, who died in August 2019 in what a New York City medical examiner ruled a suicide, at Federal Court in New York, U.S., August 27, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton - RC1A12598B40/File Photo

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Virginia Giuffre is seeking damages from the British royal for allegedly sexually assaulting her in 2001 when she was 17
Andrew’s lawyers claimed that an agreement between the late financier and Giuffre protects the prince from being sued by her



Virginia Giuffre is seeking damages from the British royal for allegedly sexually assaulting her in 2001 when she was 17.


Sexual harassment and assault

Britain

Royalty