Prince Andrew and American Virginia Giuffre have reached a settlement in a sexual assault lawsuit for an unspecified sum. afp_tickers
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–This content was published on February 15, 2022 – 17:17
(AFP)
Britain’s Prince Andrew and America’s Virginia Giuffre have settled a sexual assault lawsuit for an unspecified sum, according to court papers filed Tuesday.
In a letter sent to a New York judge on behalf of both parties, Giuffre’s attorney, David Boies, wrote that they “settled out of court,” without disclosing financial terms.
As part of the deal, the British royals will make a “substantial donation” to a charity founded by Giuffre that supports victims of sex trafficking, Boies said.
Giuffre has said she had sex with Andres when he was 17 and a minor under US law, after meeting him through US financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison two years ago while awaiting trial for sex crimes.
The 61-year-old prince has not been criminally charged and has denied the allegations.
The settlement means the civil case will not go to a jury trial. It also means that Andrés will no longer be questioned under oath by Giuffre’s lawyers.
“The parties will file a stipulated dismissal once Ms. Giuffre receives the settlement (the amount of which is not disclosed),” the document said.
“Prince Andrew never intended to smear Ms Giuffre’s character, and accepts that she has suffered so much as an established victim of abuse as a result of unfair public attacks,” it added.
“He pledges to show his remorse for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the harms of sex trafficking and standing with its victims.”
Last month, Andres was stripped of his honorary military titles and charitable duties after New York Judge Lewis Kaplan denied his request to dismiss Giuffre’s case.
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Giuffre, now 38, alleges that Andres sexually assaulted her at the London home of Epstein friend and jet-setter Ghislaine Maxwell after a night out in March 2001.
She sued the prince last year for unspecified damages, alleging she was sex-trafficked at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell.
In December, Maxwell was convicted of recruiting and grooming minors for sexual abuse by Epstein, exposing a dramatic world of sex trafficking between the rich and powerful.
In addition to London, Giuffre also said Andres assaulted her at Epstein’s home in New York and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.
Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, withdrew from public life as a royal in 2019 after a BBC interview in which he sought to vindicate himself from the accusation was widely criticized.
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