Prince Andrew’s Lawyer Calls Sexual Assault Allegations ‘Baseless’ In New York Hearing
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A lawyer representing Prince Andrew has called allegations made against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre ‘baseless and unviable.’
Giuffre’s lawsuit accuses Prince Andrew of rape in the first degree. She claims she was sexually assaulted by him on three separate occasions in 2001 when she was 17, and that Prince Andrew knew she was a victim of sex trafficking. He has denied the allegations.
During a pre-trial hearing on Monday, September 13, Prince Andrew’s lawyer disputed whether he had been served legal papers correctly, with the documents having been handed over to Metropolitan Police officers at the gate of Windsor Castle law week after Prince Andrew travelled to Balmoral, Scotland – allegedly to avoid being served.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who was presiding over the hearing, told lawyers for Giuffre they had a week to find an alternative method of correctly serving the papers, with the next hearing set to take place on October 13.
Andrew Brettler, an entertainment and litigation lawyer who is representing Prince Andrew, said his team had ‘significant concerns about the propriety’ of the civil lawsuit, arguing that a previous settlement between Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein meant his client could not face liability for sexual abuse suffered by Giuffre.
‘We believe this is a baseless, unviable and potentially unlawful lawsuit that the plaintiff has filed against the duke,’ he said per Sky News.
Brettler asked to be given a copy of the 2009 settlement, which BBC News reports has not been made public, claiming that ‘there has been a settlement agreement that the plaintiff [Ms Giuffre] has entered into in a prior action that releases the duke and others from any and all potential liability’.
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Topics: News, Now, Prince Andrew, Sexual abuse, Virginia Roberts Giuffre
