The Duke of York in the sights of justice.

Prince Andrew on Friday, October 29, asked American justice to dismiss the "baseless" complaint of a woman who accuses him of sexual assault when she was a minor.

He assured that she was seeking to profit financially from the case, according to court documents.

In one of them, filed in Manhattan, his lawyer accuses Virginia Giuffre of suing the prince "to make more money" from his allegations against the sulphurous financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019. 

"Most people wouldn't even dream of getting the sums of money Giuffre has made over the years," wrote Andrew Brettler.

"This is a motivation for Giuffre to continue to bring low-level lawsuits against individuals such as Prince Andrew, whose tainted reputation is only the latest collateral damage to the Epstein scandal," he said. added.

A complaint filed in August 2021

Virginia Giuffre, 38, who had previously publicly accused Queen Elizabeth's second son, filed a lawsuit in August 2021 in federal court in Manhattan.

The case is particularly embarrassing for the British royal family because Jeffrey Epstein is associated with it.

In her complaint, the alleged victim accuses Prince Andrew of being "one of the powerful men" to whom she was allegedly "handed over for sexual purposes" when she was, she claims, the victim between 2000 and 2002, from the age of 16, of the vast sex trafficking for which Jeffrey Epstein was charged and imprisoned, before killing himself in a Manhattan prison in the summer of 2019. Prince Andrew, 61, still has denied the charges.

An oral debate called for

His attorneys have asked the Manhattan court to dismiss the lawsuit because, they say, it does not disclose "a claim that could lead to redress."

Alternatively, they ask the court to demand that the complainant "provide a more definitive version of her allegations".

They also asked the court to hold an "oral debate" on these issues.

Since the filing of the complaint, the Duke of York had disputed its notification, before finally acknowledging it.

"Virginia Giuffre may well have been sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein, and nothing can excuse, or fully express, the horror and gravity of Epstein's monstrous behavior against Giuffre, if this is true." , wrote the lawyers.

"However, and without diminishing the harm suffered as a result of Epstein's alleged behavior, Prince Andrew has never assaulted or sexually assaulted Giuffre. He unequivocally denies Giuffre's false allegations against him," they said. added.

Lawyers for the prince have claimed Virginia Giuffre "received millions of dollars" from a 2017 out-of-court settlement after prosecuting Ghislaine Maxwell, a relative of Jeffrey Epstein.

They also said an agreement in 2009, which she signed with Jeffrey Epstein, prevented her from prosecuting anyone else in connection with her allegations of sexual abuse.

Solicited, a lawyer for Virginia Giuffre did not react immediately.

Prince Andrew is accused of having "sexually assaulted" Mrs. Giuffre, then a minor, on three occasions: in London at Ghislaine Maxwell's and in the properties of the American financier in New York and in the Virgin Islands.

Despite his denials, his association with the American businessman had plunged him into turmoil and forced him to retire from public life.

With AFP

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR