Prince Andrew’s Request To Dismiss Virginia Giuffre Lawsuit Denied By Judge

Prince Andrew‘s recent attempts to derail a sexual abuse lawsuit first brought against him by Virginia Giuffre in Aug 2021 were denied by a Judge in New York on Tuesday, and the suit will be allowed to proceed.

Giuffre claims that the late financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein trafficked her and forced her to have sex with the royal and several of his other friends when she was 17.

Judge Lewis Kaplan upheld the suit in a ruling yesterday. In the 46-page report, he wrote that Giuffre’s complaint “alleges discrete incidents of sexual abuse in particular circumstances at three identifiable locations. It identifies to whom it attributes that sexual abuse.”

Andrew and his legal team have repeatedly denied the allegations. Their argument to get the suit dismissed was based on a recently-released legal settlement between Giuffre and Epstein. Giuffre was paid $500,000 in 2009 to drop her lawsuit against him.

The prince’s name does not appear in the settlement, but his team tried to use the vague language included in the settlement that discharged other individuals who “could have been included as a potential defendant,” from litigation in the future. Giuffre’s attorneys have decried the motion and called Andrew’s claim irrelevant.

Andrew stepped away from his royal duties in 2019 amid controversy at the start of the lawsuit being filed, but he may now face legal repercussions for his alleged as well.

The trial will start sometime between September and December 2022.