Prince Andrew makes new claims about his accuser; deal ‘shielding’ him could be released

Prince Andrew has made shocking new claims about his sex assault accuser, as a secret settlement between Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein could be made public.

Prince Andrew has asked a judge to throw out a sexual assault case against him by claiming Virginia Roberts Giuffre was over the age of consent.

Ms Roberts Giuffre, 38, the Australian-based accuser who is now suing Prince Andrew for allegedly having sex with her three times when she was 17.

She filed the case under the New York Child Victims’ Act – which allowed victims to sue their alleged abusers if they were younger than 18 when it took place.

The Sun reports that the Queen’s son has asked a judge to throw out the case, claiming the legislation is “unconstitutional” and the “issue of consent is unsettled”.

His lawyers said the Child Victims’ Act is “not a reasonable mechanism to address the injustice of child sexual abuse in New York” as it classifies those under the age of 18 as minors “even though the age of consent in New York is 17”.

Prince Andrew argued “the issue of consent is unsettled with regard to those – like Ms Roberts Giuffre – who were between the ages of 17 and 18”.

The lawyers wrote: “The Act revives claims for those who allegedly suffered harm as a result of certain sexual offences they claim were committed against them when they were under the age of eighteen, even though the age of consent in New York is seventeen.”

The legal team argued that accusers must establish a lack of consent by “implied threat” – but there are no third parties that can testify to the alleged abuse.

Meanwhile, a secret Jeffrey Epstein settlement that Prince Andrew believes should protect him against the sex-assault lawsuit is going to be made public, two judges in the US have ruled.

Late paedophile Epstein signed the settlement in 2009 with Ms Giuffre.

According to a report in the New York Post, the royal’s legal team has insisted the civil settlement — which has remained under seal — also shields him and others “from any and all liability” that stem from Giuffre’s accusations.

Prince Andrew is facing a lawsuit over alleged sex abuses. Picture: AAP

Earlier this week, New York federal Judges Loretta Preska and Lewis Kaplan signed a joint order outlining plans to make public the document that Prince Andrew’s team submitted in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

“Mr. Epstein, as is well known, is deceased. The Document is well known to Ms. Giuffre,” the judges wrote, noting it has also “been available to all parties in this case for some time”.

“We question whether any proper purpose would be served by the continued secrecy of the document save, perhaps, the dollar amount the settlement provided it for,” the judges wrote.

They gave a December 22 deadline to show “good cause” to keep it secret or “the Court will file the entire Document on the public record on or about January 3, 2022”.

Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts Giuffre at Ghislaine Maxwell's townhouse in London in 2001. Picture: Florida Southern District Court/Supplied

In her suit against the embattled royal, Giuffre claims she was ordered by Epstein or his alleged cohort, Ghislaine Maxwell, to engage in sex acts with the Duke of York at least three times in London, New York and the Virgin Islands in 2001 when she was 17.

The middle son of the Queen has long vehemently denied Giuffre’s claims, including during a disastrous UK TV interview that led to him being booted from royal duties.

After repeatedly dodging attempts to be served Giuffre’s lawsuit, he has fought to get the complaint thrown out, claiming his accuser was herself a sex trafficker and arguing that she was not underage at the time she claims she was forced to have sex with him.

Ghislaine Maxwell massages the feet of Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: AFP

Meanwhile, Maxwell is “unlikely” to testify in her defence as she is “too fragile”, her family’s spokesman told The Telegraph in the UK.

The socialite’s family and friends are concerned about how the 59-year-old would hold up in the witness box.

Ms Maxwell’s lawyers have said they plan to call up to 35 witnesses as the trial resumed in New York after the prosecution rested its case last Friday, including three who have requested to testify anonymously.

– with the New York Post