Maxwell ‘will help Duke’ fight abuse claims
Socialite prepared to give evidence to assist Prince Andrew, say friends, after he is sued for sexual assault
GHISLAINE MAXWELL is prepared to give evidence on behalf of the Duke of York after he was sued for the sexual assault of a teenage girl 20 years ago.
Friends of Ms Maxwell said the socialite would support Prince Andrew’s insistence that he had never had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre has filed a lawsuit against the Duke, alleging that she was a victim of sex trafficking and had been abused by him on three separate occasions when she was 17.
The legal action raises the prospect of Prince Andrew being forced to give evidence in a New York courtroom.
Ms Giuffre, now 38, claims she was abused by the Duke after first being groomed by Ms Maxwell for the sexual gratification of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile who killed himself while awaiting further charges in 2019.
David Boies, her lawyer, last night claimed that the Duke’s lawyers “have totally stonewalled”, adding: “He can ignore me. And he can ignore Virginia… but he can’t ignore judicial process.”
The Duke was seen for the first time since the lawsuit was filed yesterday evening arriving at Balmoral accompanied by his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. The Queen returned to her Highland retreat on Monday where she will spend her first summer in Scotland without her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
In the legal claim, Prince Andrew is alleged to have “intentionally committed battery by sexually assaulting Plaintiff [Giuffre] when she was a minor”. It adds that “on multiple occasions Prince Andrew intentionally touched Plaintiff in an offensive and sexual manner without her consent”.
Mr Boies said the case would hinge on the issue of credibility, noting that the Duke had claimed he could not recall meeting his alleged victim despite photographic evidence to the contrary.
He said: “I think that that evidence, while it doesn’t go directly and conclusively to the fundamental question as to whether there was sexual abuse, it does I think significantly go to his credibility. And… this ultimately comes down to a question of credibility.”
Friends of Ms Maxwell have let it be known that the socialite, languishing in jail awaiting a trial due in November on sex trafficking charges, will testify on behalf of the Duke should the case ever reach court. Ms Maxwell would herself need to be cleared of wrongdoing at her own trial if her evidence was to be considered credible in a New York courtroom.
She is a key witness to a number of alleged incidents, including a claim by Ms Giuffre that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew at Ms Maxwell’s London home in 2001. The Duke denies all wrongdoing and Ms Maxwell has to date always supported him.
“Ghislaine will be prepared to give evidence on the Duke’s behalf,” said a friend. “By the time the case against the Duke gets to court, Ghislaine will either be convicted and serving up to 85 years in jail [or]... if she is cleared, of course she would help Prince Andrew. They have been friends for a very long time. It is highly likely Ghislaine will offer to assist him.”
The civil case lodged by Ms Giuffre shatters the Duke’s final, lingering hope of a return to public life after being forced to step down from all royal duties following a disastrous interview to the BBC’S Newsnight in November 2019, in which he failed to condemn Epstein.
On launching her legal action, Ms Giuffre alleged she was trafficked to the Duke and sexually abused on three occasions when she was 17, in London, New York and the US Virgin Islands.
“I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me,” she said. “The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions.”
Buckingham Palace aides have repeatedly stressed that while family members privately support the Duke, a return to any sort of public role could only be considered if it was no longer overshadowed by his link to Epstein.
Such a development appeared increasingly unlikely, with the Duke facing the prospect of having to challenge the suit or settle out of court, which could be seen as an admission of guilt, even if he did not accept liability.
Should the Duke ignore the legal case, the suit is likely to proceed without his participation. Any trial in absentia would increase Ms Giuffre’s chances of winning, raising the prospect of the Queen’s second eldest son being branded a sex offender by a New York court and paying substantial damages.
The Duke’s legal team, headed by Clare Montgomery QC, the UK’S leading expert on extradition law, and Gary Bloxsome, a criminal defence solicitor, were yesterday locked in discussions about how to respond to the allegations.
The Prince’s team of advisers are thought likely to challenge the suit and accuse Ms Giuffre of fabricating claims or changing her story to paint her as an unreliable witness.