More than 10 years after Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre first came forward with allegations of sexual assault against Prince Andrew, she has filed a civil suit against the disgraced royal. Giuffre is seeking damages for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress under New York’s Child Victims Act. The suit claims that she was a minor when she was forced to have sex with Andrew under the direction of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
When contacted by the BBC, Andrew’s spokesperson had no comment. In the past, Andrew has denied Giuffre’s allegations and in a 2019 interview claimed he could not remember meeting her.
Though Giuffre has made allegations about abuse by Andrew in a previous court filings, this suit is the first time that she has sought civil damages from the prince. (In April, Maxwell pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor; her trial is set to begin this fall.)
On Monday, Giuffre explained her motivation for filing the lawsuit. “I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me. The powerful and 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 to reclaim one’s life by speaking out and demanding justice,” she said in a statement. “I did not come to this decision lightly. As a mother and a wife, my family comes first—and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates—but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down.”
In November 2019, Andrew stepped back from his role as a senior royal after an interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis reignited the scandal over his friendship with Epstein. “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein,” he said in a statement announcing his decision to step back from public duties. “His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure. I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.” In January 2020, Geoffrey Berman, then the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Andrew had not cooperated with an ongoing investigation into Epstein’s crimes.
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