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Prince Andrew to urge judge to dismiss sexual assault case

Published 12:00 4 Jan 2022 GMT

Prince Andrew is set to use a 2009 Epstein case to dismiss sexual assault allegations against him today.

A New York Judge will hear the royal's team of lawyers argue for the case to be thrown out due to a 2009 deal Virginia Giuffre, the accuser, made with Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre and Epstein had a settlement deal in 2009 after Giuffre brought sexual abuse charges against him. A court filing has shown that within the settlement there was a release from liability for 'any other person or entity' who could have been a defense against the claims made by Giuffre. Giuffre accused Epstein, who was convicted of procuring sex from underage girls, of lending her out for sex to his wealthy associates, one of who was allegedly Prince Andrew. Queen Elizabeth II's son has vehemently denied these claims and was forced to step down from his royal duties following the Epstein scandal.

A hearing will be held today via video conference in which the press and members of the public will be able to listen by telephone. It is expected that Prince Andrew's lawyers will urge Judge Lewis Kaplin to drop the charges after citing the settlement which would include the Prince. Giuffre's lawyers have made it clear that they will argue that the settlement is "irrelevant" to her civil case against Prince Andrew and the case should continue. Giuffre sued Prince Andrew last year after she alleged he sexually assaulted her in 2001 when she was 17 and legally a minor. He has not been criminally charged. The assaults are alleged to have happened at Epstein's home in New York, his private residence in the US Virgin Islands, and at Ghislaine Maxwell's London home.

Ghislaine Maxwell who was Jeffrey Epstein's partner has been found guilty of trafficking and recruiting teenage girls for Epstein to abuse. She is expected to be put on suicide watch in prison awaiting her sentence. Maxwell introduced Epstein to Prince Andrew in the 1990s. Epstein was found dead in his cell after committing suicide in 2019 after being charged with child sex trafficking charges.

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