Epstein’s Giuffre deal made public as part of Prince Andrew civil suit

New York: Late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s settlement agreement with Virginia Giuffre was made public on Monday as part of Giuffre’s civil lawsuit accusing Britain’s Prince Andrew of sexual abuse.

The court documents reveal that Epstein settled a 2009 lawsuit with Giuffre for $500,000. Andrew’s lawyers are using Giuffre’s Epstein settlement to argue that the case against the senior royal should be dismissed on the grounds that the Epstein agreement barred Giuffre from taking future legal action against Epstein associates covered by the agreement.

Giuffre’s lawsuit accuses Andrew of forcing her to have sex more than two decades ago when she was under 18. The lawsuit says the assaults took place at the London home of Epstein’s former and recently convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as at two of Epstein’s homes.

Prince Andrew is accused of sexual abuse.Credit:AP

Giuffre, 38, is seeking unspecified damages in a civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court.

Andrew, 61, has denied Giuffre’s assertions and has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing Giuffre is seeking a “payday” from her accusations against Epstein and his associates. The prince has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.

Andrew argues the 2009 confidential agreement Giuffre reached with Epstein – whom she has accused of trafficking her for sex when she was a teenager – shields him from liability.

Andrew’s lawyer says the deal covers “royalty ” and that Epstein intended for it to cover anyone Giuffre might sue.

Prince Andrew pictured with Virginia Giuffre at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell (right) in London in 2001.

Giuffre’s civil case against Andrew is still in its early stages. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan has said a trial could begin between September and December of 2022 if no settlement is reached.

A hearing on Andrew’s motion to dismiss the case is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Andrew gave up many royal duties in November 2019, stating that his association with Epstein had become a “disruption to my family’s work.”

Giuffre’s suit is separate from the criminal trial against Maxwell that concluded last week. Maxwell, 60, was convicted of recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.

Giuffre’s claims did not form the basis of any of the charges Maxwell faced and she did not testify for either side during the three-week criminal trial.

Epstein took his own life in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.

Reuters

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