Prince Andrew seeking jury trial in sex assault case
Duke responds to a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a teen, denying claims and demanding a jury trial.
Prince Andrew formally responded to a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a teen decades ago, broadly denying the allegations and demanding a trial by jury.
In a court filing Wednesday, the British royal said he didn’t sexually assault Virginia Giuffre in the early 2000s. Ms Giuffre alleged in a lawsuit last year that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell coerced her into having sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17.
Earlier this month a judge overseeing the lawsuit denied the royal’s request to dismiss the suit, leading him to formally respond to Ms. Giuffre’s complaint. While Prince Andrew again called for the lawsuit’s dismissal in Wednesday’s filing, he also demanded a jury trial, setting the stage for a public showdown with his accuser in the fall.
While not admitting any fault, Prince Andrew said if Ms Giuffre suffered any abuse, then she and others were at fault.
David Boies, a lawyer for Ms Giuffre, said Prince Andrew tries to blame the victim in his filing.
“We look forward to confronting Prince Andrew with his denials and attempts to blame Ms. Giuffre for her own abuse at his deposition and at trial,” he said in a statement.
The royal, who is the second son of Queen Elizabeth and ninth in line to the British throne, was recently stripped of his military affiliations and patronages, as Buckingham Palace has looked to distance itself from the legal battle. He also agreed to not use the title “His Royal Highness.” Last month, Ms Maxwell was convicted of sex-trafficking charges for recruiting and grooming underage teens to perform sex acts on Epstein. Prince Andrew was one of several prominent figures who were mentioned during Ms Maxwell’s three-week trial.
Attorneys for Ms Maxwell have said they plan to appeal the verdict. They have called Ms Maxwell a scapegoat who wasn’t charged until nearly a year after Epstein died in a federal jail in August 2019. The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
In his latest filing, Prince Andrew denied most of Ms Giuffre’s allegations or said he lacked sufficient information to respond. The royal admitted that he met Epstein around 1999 and that he flew on the financier’s jet. Epstein and Ms Maxwell also attended Prince Andrew’s 40th birthday party in 2000, according to the filing. However, he said he never engaged in sexual acts with Ms Giuffre.
The Wall Street Journal
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