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Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew, UK News
Cameron Frew
Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have spoken out after Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts Giuffre reached a settlement in her sexual assault lawsuit.
Giuffre’s civil suit alleged she was sexually assaulted three times and ‘forced to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will’ at the age of 17, after she was trafficked by Epstein, the late convicted paedophile. The Duke of York adamantly denied all accusations.
After a lengthy rigmarole around the allegations, with Prince Andrew's legal team denying the delivery of papers, his failed bid to have the case dismissed and his military titles being stripped, both parties reached a 'settlement in principle'.
In a joint letter from Guiffre’s lawyer David Boies and the Duke's attorneys, they confirmed, 'Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement.'
'The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed). Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights,' it continued.
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'Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.
'It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.
'He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.'
The settlement was met with scepticism from some commentators. 'Prince Andrew has settled the claim by Virginia Guiffre that he sexually assaulted her – to avoid a trial. He is willing to pay her large sums of money to her for something he denies. Make of that what you will,' former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal tweeted.
Attorney Lisa Bloom shared a statement 'on behalf of the eight Jeffrey Epstein victims I represent', which read, 'We hail Virginia’s victory today. She has accomplished what no one else could: getting Prince Andrew to stop his nonsense and side with sexual abuse victims. We salute Virginia’s stunning courage.'
Exact details regarding the settlement haven't been made public, but reports suggest it will be a 'very large sum of money' and the Queen will help Prince Andrew foot the bill, after already paying millions of pounds to help his case.
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