Andrew’s sex case may rope in Fergie
Duchess alibi rumour
NEW YORK: Sarah Ferguson could be called to testify in the sex assault lawsuit against her ex-husband Prince Andrew.
Lawyers for Australia-based accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre indicated in court there were two people in the UK for whom they may need to submit a formal request to the British government to secure their testimony.
The request has led to fears among royal circles that the Duchess of York will be subpoenaed if the trial goes ahead in New York.
Ms Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies, told the court he intends to depose his client and Prince Andrew, along with about a dozen more witnesses.
“There are two people in the UK where it might be necessary for letters rogatory,” Mr Boies said, adding that he can’t identify them until he knows whether they will co-operate.
“We may be able to get them to appear voluntarily. We ought to know that within the next two to three weeks.”
Fergie and Andrew divorced in 1996, but they have remained close and her whereabouts had been invoked as part of Andrew’s alibi. Another of Ms Giuffre’s lawyers, Sigrid McCawley, has indicated she could be called.
Royal courtiers quoted in British newspapers have been buzzing about a potential subpoena for the Duchess if Andrew’s legal team fails to have the case thrown out.
The lawsuit is expected to go to trial before a New York jury towards the end of next year, a US judge said on Wednesday local time.
Ms Giuffre is suing Andrew for unspecified damages, alleging he sexually assaulted her more than 20 years ago when she was 17 and a minor under American law.
The 61-year-old prince has not been criminally charged and has repeatedly and strenuously denied the allegations.
“I can’t give you a trial date today,” district judge Lewis Kaplan told lawyers for both sides during a pre-trial conference, citing the pandemic.
“But I can say that I would anticipate somewhere in the September to December period of next year,” he added.
Lawyers for both Andrew and Ms Giuffre said they planned to seek depositions from about eight to 12 individuals each, including the parties themselves.
Ms Giuffre, who now lives in Queensland, alleges the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein lent her out for sex with his wealthy and powerful associates, including Andrew.
She says the prince assaulted her at Epstein’s home in New York, as well as on his private island in the US Virgin Islands. She says he also abused her at the London home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein, a convicted paedophile, died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges.