Prince Andrew Served With Sexual Assault Lawsuit In The US
Published
Prince Andrew has been served in the United States with a sexual assault lawsuit by Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
On August 14, Giuffre filed a lawsuit against the Duke of York under the New York Child Victims Act, alleging that she had met with the prince on three separate occasions while only 17 years old, having been trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Despite denying all accusations, refusing to cooperate with US authorities in their investigations and being ‘convinced’ that the rape claims would ‘blow over’, court papers show that Prince Andrew has since been served in the US with the lawsuit.
The Duke of York may have fled to Balmoral to ‘avoid multiple attempts to serve sexual assault papers’ and his legal team may have claimed that the legal papers were not delivered correctly, but Giuffre’s lawyers have since shared photographs of them sending the prince his legal papers on September 9. Papers were also given to police officers stationed outside the gate of Windsor Castle.
Copies of the civil lawsuit had subsequently been sent not only in the UK, but also to his Los Angeles-based lawyer Andrew Brettler, by email and FedEx. According to Reuters, both had been received by the morning of Monday September 20.
The Duke of York now has 21 days to respond under federal rules or he could be at risk of facing a default judgement, Reuters reported.
A deadline of September 24 has also been set by the High Court in London, who have given the Duke of York seven days to ‘challenge the decision of the High Court to recognise the validity of the Hague Convention request for service made by Ms Giuffre’s lawyers’.
The pre-trial hearing for the sex assault civil suit took place on September 13. Lewis Kaplan, the US District Judge, oversaw the hearing and commented on how the case should focus on the claims within the suit, rather than ‘technicalities’, such as the deliverance of the legal papers, Reuters reported.
He said:
I can see a lot of legal fees being spent and time being expended and delay, which ultimately may not be terribly productive for anyone.
Giuffre has claimed that she was ‘forced to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will’. Her allegations include ‘rape in the first degree’.
The 61-year-old Prince has always strenuously denied Giuffre’s claims.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 802 9999 between 12pm–2.30pm and 7pm– 9.30pm every day. Alternatively, you can contact Victim Support free on 08 08 16 89 111 available 24/7, every day of the year, including Christmas.
Topics: News, Prince Andrew, United States, Virginia Roberts Giuffre
