PRINCE ANDREW ‘DEMANDS JURY TRIAL’ AS HE DENIES ALL SEXUAL ASSAULT CLAIMS

Thu 27 January 2022:

Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom has requested a jury trial in the United States, despite Virginia Giuffre’s claims that he sexually abused her when she was 17 years old.

Last August, Giuffre, 38, filed a lawsuit against the Duke of York, alleging that he assaulted her while late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was trafficking her.

Andrew, 61, agreed to meeting Epstein in or around 1999 in a petition with the US District Court in Manhattan, but denied Giuffre’s accusation that he “committed sexual assault and battery” on her.

“Prince Andrew hereby demands a trial by jury on all causes of action asserted in the complaint,” his attorney wrote in a motion on Wednesday.

David Boies, a lawyer for Giuffre, said in a statement that Andrew was trying to “blame the victim”.

“We look forward to confronting Prince Andrew with his denials and attempts to blame Ms. Giuffre for her own abuse,” Boies said.

The prince has not been prosecuted criminally, and he has denied the claims that have cast him into disrepute and caused him to resign from his royal duties.

Andrew’s military positions and royal patronages were withdrawn from him earlier this month, and he was no longer referred to as “His Royal Highness.”

Andrew allegedly sexually abused Giuffre in March 2001 at the London house of socialite and Epstein acquaintance Ghislaine Maxwell.

A US jury found Maxwell guilty of assisting Epstein in the sexual abuse of teenage girls late last month.

Andrew’s filing on Wednesday was an “answer”, a common document in US litigation in which defendants deny or say they lack enough information to comment on plaintiffs’ substantive accusations.

The prince’s lawyers had previously called Giuffre’s lawsuit “baseless” and accused her of seeking another payday. Giuffre received $500,000 in a 2009 civil settlement with Epstein.

A trial might start between September and December 2022, according to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. Andrew could owe Giuffre damages if she wins at trial. She has requested an undisclosed sum of money.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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