Prince accused of ‘torture test’

THE Duke of York is subjecting victims of Jeffrey Epstein to a “torture test” by not telling prosecutors what he knows, a US lawyer has said.

Gloria Allred said Andrew is “avoiding and evading” US law authorities by not providing a statement after his friend Ghislaine Maxwell appeared in court accused of facilitating Epstein’s sexual exploitation of underage girls.

British socialite Maxwell was arrested in New Hampshire on Thursday over allegations she helped the disgraced financier, her former boyfriend, “identify, befriend and groom” girls, including one as young as 14.

Audrey Strauss, acting US attorney for the southern district of New York, told a press conference that authorities would “welcome” a statement from the Duke in relation to the investigation.

But a source close to Andrew said: “The Duke’s team remains bewildered given that we have twice communicated with the

Department of Justice (DOJ) in the last month and to date we have had no response.”

Lawyers for some of Epstein’s alleged victims yesterday added pressure on the Duke to speak about his friendship with the disgraced financier, who took his own life in prison last year while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges.

Ms Allred told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The question is, Prince Andrew, when is he going to tell what he knows?

“He needs to do that. He needs to do it without delay. It is so traumatising and difficult for the victims not to know the truth.

“And this kind of torture test that Prince Andrew is subjecting the victims to, like will he or won’t he give a statement? If he will, when?

“More excuses, more delays. It really is painful for many of the victims. It’s just not fair.”

Lawyer Spencer Coogan said his clients were “relieved” that Maxwell, daughter of late media mogul Robert Maxwell, had finally been arrested and urged Andrew to speak up about what he witnessed while visiting Epstein’s properties in New York, Palm Beach and the Virgin Islands.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I certainly think Prince Andrew has a story to tell. On behalf of the victims, we have continuously asked him to step forward, step up, be a man and tell us what he knows.

“He has been hiding behind not only the Royal Family but his attorneys.”

Lawyer Lisa Bloom, who represents six of Epstein’s alleged victims, also urged the Duke to cooperate with the investigation and said “nobody should be above the law”.

She described Maxwell’s arrest as a “monumental development” and wondered whether she has information about an “even bigger name”.