Prince Andrew is SUED by Virginia Roberts claiming he sexually abused her at Jeffrey Epstein’s

4

View
comments

Prince Andrew was sued on Monday in a New York City court by his accuser Virginia Roberts.  

Roberts accused the Duke of York of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the lawsuit filed in federal court.

The lawsuit – filed on Roberts’ 38th birthday – claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times on the orders of the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The lawsuit was filed under a law in New York that relates to child abuse as Roberts was considered a minor at the time under state law.

It lists Roberts as the plaintiff and the defendant as ‘Prince Andrew, Duke of York a/k/a Andrew Albert Christian Edward’ as the defendant.

The lawsuit claims that ‘Prince Andrew intentionally committed battery by sexually assaulting Plaintiff when she was a minor.

‘On multiple occasions Prince Andrew intentionally touched (Roberts) in an offensive and sexual manner without her consent’.

Under the section of the lawsuit that deals with the formal allegation of intentional infliction of emotional distress, the lawsuit is withering about the Duke.

It says: ‘Prince Andrew’s actions, described above, constitute extreme and outrageous conduct that shocks the conscience.

‘Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse of a child who he knew was a sex-trafficking victim, and when he was approximately 40 years old, goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is intolerable in a civilized community’.

The lawsuit claims that Andrew was one of the ‘powerful men’ who Epstein loaned Roberts out to for sex.

The document accuses the Duke of ‘publicly feigning ignorance about the scope of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and sympathy for Epstein’s victims’ then refusing to cooperate with the FBI.

The lawsuit notes that ‘defendant Prince Andrew is a citizen of the United Kingdom, and is currently residing at the Royal Lodge at Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, United Kingdom, where he is domiciled’.

During each of the alleged incidents with Roberts, Andrew was acting in a ‘personal capacity’ and not in any role for the Royal family or the UK government, the lawsuit notes.

Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing and claimed he has never even met Roberts, now a mother-of-three living in Australia who goes by her married name, Virginia Giuffre.

In a statement to ABC News, Roberts said: ‘I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me.

‘The powerful and the rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions. I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but one can reclaim her life by speaking out and demanding justice.

‘I did not come to this decision lightly. As a mother and a wife, my family comes first. I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates. 

‘But I knew that if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down’.

Roberts has made similar allegations before in US court documents but this is the first time she has sued the Duke directly.

She claims that the first time she was forced to have sex with Andrew was at the London townhouse of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s alleged madam.

The second time, in early 2001 was at Epstein’s New York mansion.

The lawsuit states: ‘During this encounter, Maxwell forced Plaintiff, a child, and another victim to sit on Prince Andrew’s lap as Prince Andrew touched her.

‘During his visit to New York, Prince Andrew forced Plaintiff to engage in sex acts against her will’.

The third incident was on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.

During each incident, Roberts was ‘compelled by express or implied threats by Epstein, Maxwell and/or Prince Andrew to engage in sexual acts’ with the Duke.

Roberts ‘feared death or physical injury to herself or another and other repercussions for disobeying Epstein, Maxwell, and Prince Andrew due to their powerful connections, wealth, and authority’, it is claimed.

Andrew allegedly had sex with Roberts knowing she was a victims of sex trafficking, it is claimed.

The Duke also knew her age from ‘communications with Epstein and Maxwell’.

The lawsuit claims: ‘Prince Andrew sexually abused (Roberts) for the purpose of gratifying his sexual desires’.

The two formal allegations are battery and infliction of emotional distress.

Under the claim for battery, the lawsuit states Andrew’s actions ‘constitute sexual offenses as defined in (New York law) including but not limited to sexual misconduct as defined (as) rape in the third degree, rape in the first degree’.

It also claims the Duke’s conduct amounted to ‘forcible touching, sexual abuse in the third degree, and sexual abuse in the first degree’.

The ‘sexual assault’ Roberts caused her ‘significant emotional and psychological distress and harm’, it is claimed.

The lawsuit states: ‘As a direct and proximate result of Prince Andrew’s criminal acts, Plaintiff has in the past and will in the future continue to suffer substantial damages, including extreme emotional distress, humiliation, fear, psychological trauma, loss of dignity and self-esteem, and invasion of her privacy’.

The filing mentions that Andrew has failed to cooperate with the criminal investigation by the FBI into Epstein and Maxwell, despite promising to do so in his disastrous Newsnight interview.

The lawsuit states: ‘In this country no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law, and no person, no matter how powerless or vulnerable, can be deprived of the law’s protection.

‘Twenty years ago Prince Andrew’s wealth, power, position, and connections enabled him to abuse a frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her.

‘It is long past the time for him to be held to account’.

Earlier this week Roberts’ lawyer David Boies threatened to sue Andrew and said that ‘time’s up’ for the Duke.

Boies said that he was ‘nearing the end of the road’ with Andrew and said that this Saturday a window for her to sue expires.

The lawsuit was filed under the New York Child Victims Act, which was signed into law in 2019.

Previously victims had up to five years after they turned 18 to file a claim

The one-off window gave all victims the opportunity to make a legal claim, regardless of how old their claim was.

Boies said: ‘If she doesn’t do it now, she would be allowing him to escape any accountability for his actions

‘And Virginia is committed to trying to avoid situations where rich and powerful people escape any accountability for their actions’.

A spokeswoman for Andrew declined to comment. 

A defamation suit, filed by Roberts in 2015 against Ghislaine Maxwell, ended in a settlement – but deeply embarrassing depositions in which Maxwell discussed her sex life were made public last year.

A source said: ‘This could be devastating for Andrew. If he chooses to fight it and is deposed [forced to give evidence], then those depositions could end up being made public.

‘If he ignores it, he could be found guilty in absentia which would be a public relations disaster.’  

Epstein hanged himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

Maxwell, 59, was arrested last July and is due to go on trial in November for allegedly recruiting underage girls for Epstein.

She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.