Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre drops lawsuit against Alan Dershowitz

American-Australian Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew, has dropped sex claims against another high-profile male.

Prince Andrew’s accuser has sensationally admitted that she “may have made a mistake” by identifying a high-profile lawyer as one of the men that late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein allegedly forced her to have sex with.

American-Australian Virginia Roberts Giuffre dropped her defamation lawsuit against former Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz on Tuesday, New York court records show.

In a stipulation dismissing the Manhattan federal court suit, lawyers for Ms Roberts Giuffre and Mr Dershowitz said neither party would be awarded costs or legal fees as part of the settlement.

“I now recognise I may have made a mistake in identifying Mr. Dershowitz,” Ms Roberts Giuffre, 39, said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre has dropped her defamation lawsuit against a high-profile lawyer. Picture: Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images.

In a joint statement, Ms Roberts Giuffre and Mr Dershowitz said the outcome did not involve the payment of money or anything else.

Ms Giuffre said she had “long believed that I was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to Alan Dershowitz.

“However, I was very young at the time, it was a very stressful and traumatic environment, and Mr Dershowitz has from the beginning consistently denied these allegations,” she continued.

“This litigation has been very stressful and burdensome for me and my family, and we believe it is time to bring it to an end and move on with our lives.”

Lawyer Alan Dershowitz was a member of former US President Donald Trump's legal team. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Mr Dershowitz said he was relieved that the claims were withdrawn and Ms Giuffre has admitted she may have made a mistake.

“As I have said from the beginning, I never had sex with Ms Giuffre,” he said.

“I have nevertheless come to believe that at the time she accused me she believed what she said.

“Ms Giuffre is to be commended for her courage in now stating publicly that she may have been mistaken about me.

“She has suffered much at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, and I commend her work combating the evil of sex trafficking.”

The extraordinary development comes just months after Ms Roberts Giuffre – who resides in Australia – settled a civil claim in the US with Britain’s Prince Andrew for a reported $12 million.

Ms Roberts Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with the Duke of York three times when she was 17 — allegations which have been denied by the prince who has since been forced to step down as a working royal.

Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Picture: US District Court – Southern District of New York / AFP

Virginia Roberts Giuffre claims she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to multiple men when she was 17 years old. Picture: US District Court – Southern District of New York / AFP

Ms Roberts Giuffre has alleged she was sex-trafficked by Epstein after meeting the multi-millionaire paedophile through British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who scouted her as a potential victim at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Maxwell was sentenced convicted of conspiring with Epstein to abuse minors and sentenced to 20 years prison earlier this year.

Ms Roberts Giuffre had filed a defamation lawsuit against Mr Dershowitz after accusing a number of prominent men of sexually exploiting her when she was 17 and 18 years old.

She had said in court filings that Epstein made her his “love slave” and forced her to have sex with Mr Dershowitz half a dozen times in Florida, New York, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands.

She claimed that Mr Dershowitz also witnessed Epstein abusing other girls.

Mr Dershowitz consistently denied all of Ms Roberts Giuffre’s allegations against him, saying he had never even met her.

The lawyer has worked on high-profile cases including helping defend US football star OJ Simpson against murder charges and representing then-US president Donald Trump in his 2020 impeachment trial.

Originally published as Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre drops lawsuit against Alan Dershowitz