Virginia Giuffre accuses Prince Andrew of abuse. But his lawyer declares that a legal agreement releases his client from claims. This remains secret.
New York – Prince Andrew is the black sheep of the British royal family. That means something, after all, the royals around the Queen have already brought some scandals behind them in the past few decades. But the allegations against the son of Queen Elizabeth II are once again of a different caliber.
After all, it’s about nothing less than the question of whether Prince Andrew molested a minor. “It is long time that he was brought to justice,” says the complaint filed by US American Virginia Giuffre in August 2021. In it, she accuses Andrew of sexually assaulting a minor. Prince Andrew denies all allegations.
Virginia Giuffre accuses Prince Andrew of abuse
Andrew got to know the 17-year-old through his friend Jeffrey Epstein. This is a name that many men cannot or do not really want to remember. The bustling US billionaire had committed suicide in 2019 at the age of 66 in a Manhattan prison. He was accused of forcing underage girls into prostitution. In addition to Prince Andrew, other celebrities were clearly among Epstein’s close confidants. In the Netflix documentary “Jeffrey Epstein: Stinkreich” Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Woody Allen are named, among others.
What is exciting is that the aforementioned did not break off contact with Epstein even after he had already been convicted of prostitution of minors. In a November 2019 BBC interview, Andrew couldn’t think of much more than to describe his enduring friendship with Epstein as “inappropriate” and “disappointing” for a member of the royal family. Andrew did not show any sympathy for the victims at the time. The publicist Mark Borowski called the interview afterwards a “car accident in slow motion”.
Legal agreement aims to protect Prince Andrew from legal action
The case is still going on. Now the New York judge Lewis Kaplan decided that a possibly decisive legal agreement from 2009 may remain secret. Andrew Brettler, attorney representing the prince in the United States, had previously filed a request.
The settlement at that time was made between Giuffre and Epstein. Accordingly, Giuffre undertakes not to sue anyone except Epstein. According to his lawyer, this agreement protects the prince from any lawsuit in the United States.
Abuse allegations against Prince Andrew: Legal agreement may remain secret
But why should the documents remain under lock and key? Brettler stated that neither the prince nor the plaintiff claimed that the legal agreement should remain sealed. But they had asked that it remain a secret because it was subject to the protective order of a judge who was leading a civil case in New York.
Judge Lewis Kaplan appeared to be pushing the parties to ask Judge Loretta Preska to release the document. He said Preska “could view a request for approval to publish the agreement benevolently”. However, this must be decided by the judge.
A hearing on Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against Prince Andrew is scheduled for next week. (cs / ap)
