Prince Andrew Named in Court Papers Relating to Jeffrey Epstein
When Prince Andrew reached an out of court settlement with his accuser Virginia Giuffre almost two years ago, he hoped it would draw some kind of line under years of damage over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But today, the Prince is back in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as he was named in court papers by a woman accusing him of putting his hand on her breast.
Prince Andrew was among scores of people named as previously private court papers relating to Epstein were unsealed today under a judge’s orders. The papers formed part of defamation lawsuit that Virginia Giuffre filed against Ghislaine Maxwell and include the testimony of Epstein victims as well as that of witnesses and other evidence relevant to the now-settled 2015 case.
The papers include testimony from Epstein victim Johanna Sjoberg, who said that Prince Andrew put his hand on her breast in 2001 at Epstein’s New York townhouse. The filings detail that she sat on Andrew’s lap in the presence of Epstein and Maxwell while Virginia Giuffre sat with a puppet of the Prince. “They put the puppet’s hand on Virginia’s breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast,” the papers read.
Ms Sjoberg’s claims were already in the public domain as they had previously been reported in a UK newspaper. Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein victims, firstly via Buckingham Palace and later via his own spokesperson after he stepped back from royal life in 2019. Nevertheless, the unsealing of these documents will be an unwelcome turn for the Prince who had only just started to make appearances with the royal family at family occasions without his presence becoming a distraction.
Also named in the court filings released today were former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, as well as scientist Stephen Hawking and singer Michael Jackson. Many of the names appear in passing in the context of evidence due to wealthy financier Epstein’s extensive networks. Being part of the court papers does not mean being accused of wrongdoing. As with Ms Sjoberg’s claims, much of the information was already known, with the BBC reporting that “the documents so far unveil no major new allegations about Epstein nor revelations about his associates.”
After serving a prison sentence in 2008 and 2009 following a controversial plea deal, Epstein was eventually re-arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges. He killed himself in prison later that year while awaiting trial. Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison serving a 20 year sentence after being found guilty in 2021 of sex trafficking women and girls for Epstein to abuse.
After a disastrous 2019 television interview where he said he did not regret his friendship with Epstein, Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties and was later stripped of his military titles. Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against him in 2021 saying she was forced to have sex with the Prince when she was 17 and being sex trafficked by Epstein. This case was settled in February 2022, when a letter to the court read, “Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.”
You Might Also Like
