38-year-old, Ms Giuffre had claimed that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was 17 years old and considered a juvenile in the United States. However, the charges have been persistently denied by the Queen's 61-year-old son. According to the Duke of York's attorneys, the ‘baseless lawsuit’ should be dismissed, because Ms Giuffre has failed to adequately describe her claims against him.
Discover our latest podcast
The duke confirmed in September that he had served legal papers in the dispute and that he had until October 29 to react. And as Ms Giuffre has failed to provide anything substantial against the duke, she is expected to submit a better definitive declaration of her charges if the case is not dismissed.
Achieve Another Payday?
According to a petition in Manhattan by the Duke of York's lawyers, Virginia Giuffre has sued the Duke of York to ‘achieve another payday’ from her accusations against the late infamous billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew's lawyers wrote in a court statement filed on Friday that his sullied reputation is merely the latest collateral impact of the Epstein disaster. The document read,
Accusing a member of the world's best known royal family of serious misconduct has helped Giuffre create a media frenzy online and in the traditional press.
Giuffre has initiated this baseless lawsuit against Prince Andrew to achieve another payday at his expense and at the expense of those closest to him. Epstein's abuse of Giuffre does not justify her public campaign against Prince Andrew.
Further, it was also highlighted that most people can only dream of achieving the large sum of money that Ms Giuffre has secured herself over the years from such accusations.
The Epstein Scandal
Ms Giuffre was an accuser of Jeffrey Epstein, a rich sex offender who died in prison in 2019. She claims she was abused by the prince in Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell's home in London. According to the filing, Ms Giuffre settled sex trafficking and abuse claims against Epstein in 2009 with a broad release negotiated by the convicted sex offender.
The release insisted on covering any and all people identified by Giuffre as potential targets of future lawsuits, regardless of the merit of any such claims. As such, the duke’s attorney wrote in the petition,
However, and without diminishing the harm suffered as a result of Epstein's alleged misconduct, Prince Andrew never sexually abused or assaulted Giuffre. He unequivocally denies Giuffre's false allegations against him.
