Epstein accuser sues Prince Andrew
NEW YORK — One of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accusers sued Prince Andrew on Monday, saying he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.
Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court.
In a statement, Giuffre said the suit was brought under the Child Victims Act to allege that she was trafficked to him and sexually abused by him.
“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. I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one’s life by speaking out and demanding justice.
“I did not come to this decision lightly,” she added. “As a mother and a wife, my family comes first — and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates — but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down.”
In late 2019, Prince Andrew told BBC Newsnight that he never had sex with Giuffre, saying, “It didn’t happen.”
He said he has “no recollection” of ever meeting her and told an interviewer there are “a number of things that are wrong” about Giuffre’s account, which alleges the encounter occurred in 2001.
According to the lawsuit, the prince abused Giuffre on multiple occasions when she was younger than 18.
It says that on one occasion, the prince sexually abused her in London at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell when Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew forced her to have sexual intercourse with the prince against her will.
On another occasion, Prince Andrew sexually abused her in Epstein’s New York mansion, the lawsuit says.
VICTIM FUND NEARLY COMPLETE
Meanwhile, a fund set up to provide money to victims of Epstein announced Monday that it has largely completed its work after agreeing to deliver nearly $125 million to more than 135 individuals.
The announcement came from Jordana Feldman, the administrator of the Epstein Victims Compensation Program, which since June 2020 has operated independently of Epstein’s estate.
Feldman said 92 percent of 150 eligible applicants accepted what was offered by the fund, which received 225 claims, far more than the roughly 100 or so that were expected based on the number of women who had sued and spoken to lawyers.
Payouts were generally processed and paid within two to three months after claimants shared their experiences in confidential meetings, according to a news release from the fund.
Feldman, who declined to provide demographics on claimants, said she met individually with more than 200applicants and tried to put them at ease at the outset by saying nothing would be recorded, leading them to “kind of relax their shoulders a little bit.”
“I do think that there was a sense of comfort knowing that this was a safe space to share their stories. And I think that the process was exhausting but empowering for many of these victims. Empowerment in having come forward and reclaiming a sense of control and ownership in their own narrative,” she said.