© REUTERS
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The abuse case that Virginia Giuffre has filed against British Prince Andrew in the aftermath of the Epstein case will not be dropped, a New York judge has ruled. A major defeat for the Queen’s son, who had hoped to avoid a lawsuit.
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Virginia Giuffre, now 38, stated that she was not only a victim of the now deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, but also that she was abused three times by the British Prince Andrew at the age of 17. The 61-year-old prince, the second son of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, has always denied the allegations.
Andrew’s lawyers wanted the case dropped because Giuffre reached an amicable settlement with Epstein in 2009, stating that in exchange for the $500,000 buyout, she would not only be Epstein, but “any other person” as well. involved in the case would be exempt from legal prosecution.
Guiffre’s attorney maintained that the document is irrelevant to the charges against Andrew because he is not specifically mentioned and the prince was not at the time subject to the legal system in the state of Florida where the document was prepared. The sexual abuse allegedly did not take place in Florida, but in New York, London and on a private island in the US Virgin Islands.
Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled on Wednesday that Guiffre’s civil lawsuit against the prince was well founded, partly because it was premature to rule that the settlement protects those involved such as Andrew, the 46-page court document said. His name was not specifically mentioned in the settlement.
A trial could potentially take place between September and December 2022, unless Andrew and Giuffre agree to a friendly settlement in the meantime. The prince previously resigned from all his royal duties.
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