Prince Andrew served court papers in sexual assault case

There’s been a bombshell development in Australian woman Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against Prince Andrew.

Prince Andrew has finally been served court papers over his sex accuser’s lawsuit — after his police guards and security were initially ordered not to accept them, according to court papers.

New York Post reports that Cesar Sepulveda filed an affidavit in the Manhattan federal lawsuit brought by Australian woman Virginia Roberts Giuffre confirming that he had served the papers to Prince Andrew at his Royal Lodge home on August 27.

He detailed how he had been repeatedly rebuffed in previous attempts to hand over the documents in which Queen Elizabeth’s 61-year-old son is accused of first-degree rape linked to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Sepulveda said the day before the papers were successfully served, he had been told to wait at Andrew’s main gates, where police officers — including Andrew’s head of security — repeatedly claimed they could not reach anyone inside.

Prince Andrew has finally been served court papers over his sex accuser’s lawsuit. Picture: AFP

The server said he was then told that “the security there had been instructed not to allow anyone attending there for the purpose of serving court papers onto the grounds of the property and at the time they had been told not to accept service of any court process,” per the New York Post.

He was “also advised at that time that anything left there would not be forwarded” to Prince Andrew.

“It appeared from the attendance that the security staff had already been primed not to allow anyone access onto the property to serve court process and had been instructed not to accept any service,” his affidavit said.

Prince Andrew was served court papers in the civil case. Picture: AFP

He then left messages with Andrew’s lawyer, but “no communication was received” in response, he said, forcing him to return to Royal Lodge the next day.

This time, the officer at the gate contacted Andrew’s head of security, who assured Sepulveda that he could leave the papers and they would be forwarded to the Duke of York’s legal team.

Sepulveda asked if it was “possible to meet personally” with Andrew to serve him directly, but “was told that this was not possible,” his affidavit said.

However, leaving it with the police officer “is consistent with the provisions for service,” the affidavit noted, stating that Andrew was officially served the complaint and exhibits.

He also left documents alerting him that the first hearing, a telephone conference from New York, is scheduled for Monday, the papers stated.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre in an interview on the BBC's Panorama program. Picture: AFP

’HELD RESPONSIBLE’

Giuffre’s lawsuit claims she was “forced to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will” at the behest of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell.

“Prince Andrew’s actions constitute sexual offences” including first- and third-degree rape, the lawsuit alleges, citing New York penal code, under which rape includes with someone “by forcible compulsion.”

Giuffre claims she suffered “substantial damages” from “extreme emotional distress, humiliation, fear, psychological trauma, loss of dignity and self-esteem, and invasion of her privacy.”

“I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me,” Giuffre told the New York Post in a statement after filing her lawsuit.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell pictured in 2005. Picture: Getty Images

“The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions,” she said.

“I did not come to this decision lightly. As a mother and a wife, my family comes first — and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates — but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down,” she said.

Andrew has repeatedly denied Giuffre’s claims, including during a BBC interview in which he insisted he had “no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”

Neither he, his legal team nor Buckingham Palace has responded to the lawsuit.

Epstein died in August 2019 while awaiting trial on serious sex charges. Maxwell remains in custody awaiting trial for allegedly recruiting underage girls for Epstein. She has pleaded not guilty.

This article has been edited and republished from the New York Post with permission.