The British Prince Andrew defends himself with formal legal means against the complaint of an alleged abuse victim. According to a court document filed on Monday, the 61-year-old questions the jurisdiction of the New York federal court before which the woman sued him. He also contests the manner in which the application is said to have been presented to him.
Virginia Giuffre had sued the Duke of York in early August. She accuses him of sexually abusing her more than 20 years ago as a minor. The now 38-year-old claims to have been “loaned” to Prince Andrew for sexual abuse by the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and is demanding compensation.
The first hearing in the civil case was due in New York on Monday. Prince Andrew was represented by the Californian attorney Andrew Brettler. In the 30-minute hearing, Andrew’s new star Hollywood attorney argued that the charges against Andrew in the indictment were “unfounded, unfeasible and potentially unlawful.” He demanded that the judge reject the civil suit. Brettler also made it clear that he would challenge the New York jurisdiction.
The lawsuit was handed over to Queen Elizabeth II’s second eldest son on August 27, but not in person, according to recently released court documents. Giuffres representative stated that he had given the document to a police officer at the entrance to the Prince’s residence in Windsor, England.
Should the judge ultimately decide that the lawsuit was served correctly, Andrew has 21 days to respond to the allegations.
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Giuffre accuses Andrew of abusing her in the house of Epstein’s then girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell in London. The then 17-year-old was according to her complaint by Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew “against her will to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew”. In addition to London, the prince also abused her in Epstein’s house in New York and on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.
The allegations against Prince Andrew have been in the room since 2019. He always denied the allegations and stated that he could not remember a meeting with Giuffre. But Prince Andrew resigned from his royal duties after an unsuccessful TV interview in 2019. The former helicopter pilot and war veteran is divorced and has two children.
The multimillionaire Epstein is said to have sexually abused underage girls and young women and incited them into prostitution for years. The well-connected investment banker, already convicted of sex crimes, was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell after his new arrest in 2019. According to official information, he committed suicide.
Epstein was in contact with numerous politicians and celebrities, including former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Epstein’s former girlfriend Maxwell pleaded innocent at a court hearing in New York in April. She is accused of having recruited minors for Epstein. The trial is scheduled for the end of November.
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