Andrew challenges right of US court to hear sex claim case
Alleged victim’s father says royal should be sent to jail
PRINCE Andrew last night made a dramatic legal challenge in the US to fight allegations he sexually assaulted a teenager.
He has hired one of Hollywood’s top lawyers to try to get a civil lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre thrown out.
The move came as her dad gave an interview claiming the Duke of York should be jailed for the way she says he treated her more than 20 years ago.
The prince is going to challenge the right of a US court to even hear the case.
In the filing with the US District Court, Andrew Brettler submitted a notice saying he “enters this special appearance on behalf of Prince Andrew”.
The lawyer attended last night’s hearing in New York “for the purpose for contesting purported service of process and challenging jurisdiction”.
Mr Brettler clashed with Giuffre’s legal team and said the action was a “potentially unlawful suit”.
He denied claims his client had been served with court papers.
The hearing, which was concerned with technical and timing issues, was briefly interrupted by a fire drill in a lawyer’s office.
The case was adjourned until October 13.
Giuffre, now 38, has accused the Duke of York of raping her when she was 17, which he vehemently denies.
There was confusion last week over whether the prince had been actually served with court papers.
Lawyers claimed they were served in emails and by FedEx and also sent to the royal’s Windsor home.
Before the hearing, Giuffre’s dad attacked the prince’s behaviour. Sky Roberts said: “I would like to see
him go to prison for at least a little while. He needs to know what it’s like to be held accountable for his actions.
“This is not the times of William Wallace when royals can do whatever they want. The times have changed.
“Prince Andrew thinks it’s still those times, where he can do whatever he wants.”
Judge Lewis Kaplan heard the start of the public legal process, which was held by conference call.
It is the latest blow to the prince, whose reputation has been severely damaged by the allegations. Giuffre has claimed she was made to have sex with the royal at the insistence of disgraced millionaire Jeffrey Epstein and accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell. Her complaint says the royal’s “actions constitute sexual offences” including first and third-degree rape.
Giuffre alleges that she was “forced to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will” three times, starting when she was 17.
Andrew has repeatedly denied the claims, including during a disastrous BBC interview in which he insisted he had “no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever”.
It is claimed the abuse took place in the UK, New York and US Virgin Islands.
Epstein hanged himself in a Manhattan prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex offences.
Maxwell is in custody in Brooklyn awaiting trial for allegedly recruiting underage girls for Epstein. She has pleaded not guilty.
Giuffre, who is seeking damages, may have to wait until 2024 before she is able to repeat her claims before a judge.
David Greene, of law firm Edwin Coe, said: “It’s a highly complex issue and I think it will take quite some time to come in front of the court.”
This is not the times of William Wallace when royals can do whatever they want SKY ROBERTS FATHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, INSET