Prince Andrew agrees to settle sexual assault lawsuit
Prince Andrew has agreed to settle a sexual assault lawsuit from Virginia Giuffre, according to a letter filed Tuesday from her lawyer David Boies.
The sum of the settlement is not being disclosed, and the letter to the court says Prince Andrew "intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights."
"Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks," the letter reads. "It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others."
Giuffre had alleged that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked her to Prince Andrew, who she claimed took advantage and sexually abused her when she was under 18.
Prince Andrew had repeatedly denied the allegation and attacked Giuffre's credibility and motives.
"As a managing partner at a firm that has from its beginning acted upon the belief that the law should be marshalled to bring justice to the most vulnerable, I can say, without hesitation, that our representation of survivors upholds that tradition," Sigrid McCawley, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner who also represents Giuffre, said in a statement. "I am very pleased with the resolution of Virginia Giuffre's litigation against Prince Andrew."
Earlier this month, Prince Andrew agreed to a March deposition in this case. This came after a federal judge in New York rejected his arguments to dismiss the case in January.
Giuffre and Epstein settled a civil lawsuit for $500,000 in 2009, which was the basis for Prince Andrew's argument to have the case dismissed.
Epstein died by suicide at the at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan in 2019. He had been set to stand trial for allegedly sexually abusing dozens of girls in New York and Florida.
