Prince Andrew has officially acknowledged through his lawyer that he has been served with a sexual assault lawsuit filed by an American woman who claims he repeatedly abused her when she was a teen.
It was stalled by the Duke of York’s refusals in the past to take on the suit. On Tuesday, a joint agreement between Prince Andrew’s attorney and a New York federal judge was made public.
According to court documents, Andrew had refused to sign the lawsuit. A conference call between the attorneys took place on Sept. 21. A Judge Lewis Kaplan signed an order confirming that the agreement was reached three days later.
The royal has steadfastly denied the allegations of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 38, a longtime accuser of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender and former friend of the prince. Epstein, who was awaiting trial in 2019 on sex trafficking allegations, committed suicide at a New York jail.
Giuffre says that Epstein, aged 61, raped and assaulted Giuffre while she was being sex-trafficked by him at 17.
Giuffre stated that the suit was filed under the Child Victims Act. She claimed she was sexually abused and trafficked in a statement she made August.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
She alleges the abuse occurred in 2001. She began making the allegations in 2015.
Andrew, in a 2019 interview with the BBC, said, “I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened,” he said of the allegations. He stepped down from his royal duties following that interview and is rarely seen at public events.
He also said he had “no recollection” of meeting Giuffre and there were “a number of things that are wrong” with her claims.
An attorney for Andrew has called the allegations “baseless.”
According to the agreement terms, the prince is required by law to answer the lawsuit by Oct. 29.