Father of Virginia Roberts blasts Prince Andrew and says he ‘should be ashamed of himself’
‘The royals are not above the law’: Father of Virginia Roberts blasts Prince Andrew and says he ‘should be ashamed’ of himself after his daughter filed lawsuit accusing royal of sexually assaulting her when she was 17
Virginia Roberts has filed a civil suit in New York seeking ‘substantial’ damages She claims she was sexually abused in 2001, when she was 17 years oldPrince Andrew has always vehemently denied sexual contact with Roberts Her father Sky Roberts, 65, said that the Prince ‘should be ashamed’ In his first comments on Virginia’s lawsuit, Mr Roberts told The Sun : ‘I support my daughter 100 per cent. The royals are not above the law’It came as senior British police officer Cressida Dick called for a review into Roberts’ claims she was flown to UK by Jeffrey Epstein for sex with Andrew
Virginia Roberts’ father has said he is proud that his daughter is ‘fighting back’ against Prince Andrew, after she filed a lawsuit in New York accusing the royal of sexually assaulting her.
Roberts accused the Duke of York of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday.
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 incidents all allegedly took place in 2001, when she was 17 years old.
The lawsuit claims that ‘Prince Andrew intentionally committed battery by sexually assaulting Plaintiff when she was a minor.
Prince Andrew has always vehemently denied sexual contact with Roberts
Her father Sky Roberts, 65, has now hit out at the prince saying he ‘should be ashamed’ for not cooperating with the police inquiry.
In his first comments on Virginia’s lawsuit, Mr Roberts told The Sun: ‘I support my daughter 100 per cent. The royals are not above the law. That’s not the way it works.
‘They can’t just do what they want. People fight back. That’s what Virginia is doing, she is fighting back. She has to do what she thinks is right.’
In his first comments on Virginia’s lawsuit, Mr Roberts said, ‘I support my daughter 100 per cent. The royals are not above the law. That’s not the way it works’
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 Duke of York has always vehemently denied all charges made by Virginia Roberts
Speaking from his home in Summerfield, Florida he said: ‘If Prince Andrew puts himself in my position, if this was happening to his daughter, how would he feel? He should be ashamed.’
‘He has the money and the power, but I hope Virginia comes out ahead.
‘She is persistent when she gets her mind set on something, so I think she will win. She will get her day in court. It’s brave and I’m proud of her.’
He added: ‘He gets to go about his life, he is not prosecuted for anything. He should face up to these charges.
‘I’m hoping this can set the record straight. I don’t think this is about money, it’s about doing the right thing. It’s about vindication.’
Prince Andrew has previously been accused by Virginia of ‘publicly feigning ignorance about Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and sympathy for Epstein’s victims’ and then refusing to cooperate with the FBI, who he has been encouraged to speak to for years.
The pressure on Prince Andrew to co-operate with the FBI was cranked up today as the head of Britain’s Scotland Yard said police in London are ready to help foreign detectives, and ordered a fresh review into the Duke of York’s sex abuse allegations, declaring: ‘No one is above the law.’
Dame Cressida Dick revealed a third review is underway into the claims that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein trafficked Virginia to the UK for sex with Andrew when she was 17.
But Dick insisted no Metropolitan Police formal investigation into the royal is taking place, with American authorities currently treating him as a witness rather than a suspect.
The Met has already twice ruled out a full investigation into claims young women and girls were alleged to have been targeted, trafficked, groomed, or abused in the UK by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
When asked about the decision to sue Andrew in the US, Dame Cressida told LBC: ‘Nobody is above the law. As a result of what’s going on I’ve asked my team to have another look at the material.’
And giving tacit confirmation the Met would work with US law enforcement, including the FBI, if needed, she said: ‘We are of course open to working with authorities overseas, we will give them every assistance if they ask us for anything within the law obviously’.
The prince has said he has offered to co-operate with FBI.
Virginia’s lawsuit this week 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.
It alleges: ‘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.
Dame Cressida Dick revealed a third review is underway into the claims that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein trafficked Virginia to the UK for sex with Andrew when she was 17.
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 U.S. 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 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.
