Prince Andrew Will Face Sexual Assault Civil Suit in America After Judge Refuses to Throw Out Case

Prince Andrew is to face a civil case in the US over allegations he sexually assaulted a trafficked victim of Jeffrey Epstein when she was 17 years old. Andrew’s lawyers tried to get the suit thrown out of court, claiming in part that a prior agreement between convicted sex offender Epstein and the accuser, Virginia Giuffre, meant she could not sue him. Judge Lewis A Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, however, said that the settlement between Epstein, a sex-trafficking serial rapist, and one of his victims ‘cannot be said’ to benefit the prince. The case against him can now proceed and be heard sometime over the next year. Giuffre’s lawyer said that she was ‘pleased’ by the news and that ‘evidence will now be taken concerning her claims against him.’

Prince Andrew’s lawyers could potentially launch an appeal against Judge Kaplan’s decision but they would need his permission to do so, and legal commentators (via the BBC) say the wording of his decision suggests it would not be granted.

Ms Giuffre filed a civil case in New York last August under the state’s Child Victims Act, which allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse to pursue a case that otherwise would have been barred because too much time had passed. She has long accused Andrew of abusing her at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, a friend of his and Epstein. She was convicted by a jury last month of procuring teenage girls for Epstein. The photograph of Andrew, Maxwell, and Giuffre has been a smoking gun of sorts against the Prince, who denies the claims and at one point tried to insinuate that the image had been photoshopped. After a trainwreck appearance on BBC’s Newsnight in 2019, Andrew said he did not regret his friendship with Epstein because he got some good business connections out of it. He also claimed that he couldn’t sweat. Since then, he’s avoided the limelight and retreated from royal duties.

While a recent report from the Daily Mirror claimed that the Queen would not pay her favorite son’s legal fees, the Daily Telegraph has claimed otherwise. There have also been plenty of ‘sources’ scrambling to the royal reporters to talk about how Princes Charles and William are oh-so-furious with Andy. What bravery, such excellent displays of strength from the heirs. Maybe we’ll hear a source tell us that their prayers are with Giuffre and other victims of one of the most notorious abusers of the past century.

Abolish the monarchy.