‘I made a mistake’: Virginia Giuffre drops lawsuit against lawyer Alan Dershowitz

Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre has sensationally dropped a defamation lawsuit against a high-profile lawyer, admitting she was wrong.

Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre has sensationally dropped a defamation lawsuit against lawyer Alan Dershowitz in which she claimed she was forced to have sex with him.

The 38-year-old withdrew the lawsuit in New York on Tuesday, local time, The Sun reports.

She and Mr Dershowitz issued a joint statement in which they said the withdrawal of the legal action 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.

“I now recognise I may have made a mistake in identifying Mr Dershowitz,” Ms Giuffre said.

It marks the end of a three-year battle by Ms Giuffre, a prominent victim of the sex trafficking ring of Jeffrey Epstein.

Ms Giuffre’s 2019 lawsuit accused Mr Dershowitz of defaming her when he denied her claim. Mr Dershowitz had countersued Ms Giuffre.

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Virginia Giuffre has dropped a defamation suit against Alan Dershowitz. Picture: Barry Williams

In a document filed by lawyers for both Ms Giuffre and Mr Dershowitz in federal court in New York, both parties said they would agree not to sue again and waived their rights to appeal.

Mr Dershowitz praised Ms Giuffre for coming forward.

He told The Independent: “I commend her for finally coming forward and acknowledging that she may have made a mistake in identifying me because of the trauma that she went through.

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

Lawsuits by Mr Dershowitz against Ms Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies are also expected to be settled.

Mr Dershowitz, who has represented celebrity clients including Mike Tyson, Julian Assange, and Harvey Weinstein, had defended Epstein when he was charged with sex trafficking.

Alan Dershowitz has defended many high-profile clients, including Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: Mario Tama

Epstein, 66, killed himself in the Manhattan Correctional Centre while awaiting trial on federal charges of trafficking young girls.

Ms Giuffre also made claims against Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, 60, is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her part in procuring girls for Epstein.

Giuffre also accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17. Picture: AFP

Previously, Ms Giuffre launched a legal battle against Prince Andrew, accusing him of sexually abusing her at Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion when she was aged 17 and 18.

The lawsuit specified that Ms Giuffre was “forced to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will”.

But Prince Andrew has strenuously denied her claims.

That lawsuit was settled out of court in February, with an undisclosed sum going to Ms Giuffre’s charity.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission

Originally published as ‘I made a mistake’: Virginia Giuffre drops lawsuit against lawyer Alan Dershowitz