Prince Andrew back in the spotlight over Epstein files

Prince Andrew is back in the spotlight again over alleged sex assault claims in the newly-released Jeffrey Epstein files.

Pressure is mounting on Prince Andrew after the newly-released Jeffrey Epstein documents referred to alleged sexual assault claims.

UK based antimonarchy activist group Republic revealed that they had submitted a complaint about the Duke of York to the Metropolitan Police

“It’s time for the Met Police to act,” the organisation posted online, calling for police to reopen its investigation into the Prince.

Chief executive of the group Graham Smith confirmed that he had reported the Prince to the police.

Prince Andrew has been reported to the police. Picture: US District Court – Southern District of New York / AFP

“To date, there appears to have been no serious criminal investigation, no interview of the accused or other witnesses, and no clear justification for taking no action,” Mr Smith said, according to the Daily Mail.

“I am calling on the Met Police to reopen this case, I am calling on MPs to debate this affair in parliament, and I am calling on Charles to make a public statement, in front of the press and taking questions, to respond to these allegations and what they say about the monarchy.

“How can we not expect a response from the Government and head of state? At the time of the alleged offences, Andrew was a government trade ambassador and an active member of the royal family.

🚨🚨 BREAKING NEWS: We've just reported Andrew to the police.

With the release of the Epstein court documents, new details of sexual assault and rape allegations against Andrew have been revealed.

It's time for the Met Police to act. #NotMyKing#AbolishTheMonarchy#Epsteinpic.twitter.com/PqaYHHFBxv

— Republic (@RepublicStaff) January 4, 2024

‘They fudged and obfuscated for 11 years before taking any definitive action.

“The question many people will be asking is simple: if the accused were anyone else, do we believe they wouldn’t have been investigated and prosecuted?”

The trove of papers filed in Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 defamation suit against the dead sex offender’s “madam” Ghislaine Maxwell included references to Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton and Stephen Hawking, among other major figures.

Prince Andrew was said to be “tormented” over the fact that his name would be dredged back up and linked back to Epstein, according to reports.

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in 2019. Picture: New York State Sex Offender Registry / AFP

The disgraced royal, who also flew on Epstein’s jet and was once captured in a now-infamous shot with his arm around a then-17-year-old Giuffre, was stripped of his HRH, or “His Royal Highness,” moniker last year by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, over his ties to Epstein.

Johanna Sjoberg, another Epstein victim, alleged in a 2016 deposition that Prince Andrew put his hand on her breast as she sat on his lap at the financier’s Manhattan townhouse in 2001.

She claims to have also posed for a photo alongside Giuffre, whose breast was groped using a puppet of Andrew, Sjoberg testified.

“They put the puppet on Virginia’s lap, and I sat on Andrew’s lap, and they put the puppet’s hand on Virginia’s breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo,” she said of Maxwell and Epstein.

According to Reuters, Andrew has denied the accusation, which was revealed and reported on in a previous document dump.

As speculation mounted over the list of names currently being released, Giuffre – long-described as Epstein’s “sex slave” – appeared to taunt associates of the well-connected paedophile.

“There’s going to be a lot of nervous people over Christmas and New Years, 170 to be exact, who’s on the naughty list?” Giuffre tweeted last month.

The Duke of York has denied all allegations. Picture: Adrian DENNIS / AFP

Giuffre’s defamation suit against Maxwell, which was settled in 2017 for an undisclosed amount, had centred on her claim that Maxwell defamed her by saying that she was lying about being sex-trafficked by Epstein when she was a teenager.

The unsealed documents include an email sent by Ghislaine Maxwell.

“I can’t even see what life after press hell even looks like,” she wrote.

“Statements that don’t address all just lead to more questions. What is my relationship to Clinton? Andrew? On and on.”

During her deposition, Maxwell stated that Prince Andrew had only visited Epstein’s island once.

She clarified that only female staff were present during the prince’s visit, and no girls were in attendance.

Maxwell was convicted in late 2021 of recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.

Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

–With NYP