© AFP
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Virgina Giuffre’s complaint against Britain’s Prince Andrew for sexual abuse of minors is not invalid because the woman is said to actually live in Australia, not the US. That’s what a US judge ruled on Friday.
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Laurence TorckSource: BELGIAN
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The case against Prince Andrew is pending before a civil court in New York. Virginia Giuffre accuses the Duke of York of sexually assaulting her when she was 17 years old.
Giuffre, then known as Roberts, claims that multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his then-partner Ghislaine Maxwell forced her to have sex with their friends, including the Duke of York. There are also photos of Giuffre with Maxwell and the Queen’s third child from around the time of the alleged abuse. The woman is said to have had sex with the prince a total of three times, twice when she was still a minor. The royal denies those allegations.
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video conference
Prince Andrew’s lawyers argue that the complaint is not legally valid. One of their arguments is Giuffre’s hometown. In fact, the woman would no longer live in the US, but in Australia, which would make the complaint inadmissible.
However, the judge ruled otherwise. Prince Andrew’s lawyers’ request was denied. The judge emphasized, however, that he was not ruling on the merits of the case.
Another video conference is scheduled for Monday in which the prince’s lawyers can further explain their arguments to stop the trial. It would also include the amicable settlement that Epstein and Giuffre concluded in 2009.
Ghislaine Maxwell, now 60, was convicted last week for recruiting underage girls for Epstein. The millionaire committed suicide in his cell several years ago.
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