Prince Andrew accused of pedophilia in sex slave lawsuit
An unnamed woman–whose anonymity has been preserved by the legal system because of the nature of her claims–says that she was kept as a sex slave by financier Jeffrey Epstein from 1999 to 2002, during which time the woman was a minor. And one of the parties she names among the many she says paid Epstein to have sex with her is Prince Andrew, Duke of York, KG, GCVO, CD, ADC(P). York, a commander in the Royal Navy who holds the honorary rank of rear admiral, is fifth in line to the British crown.
The woman claims that she was lent out to high-profile men the world over, and that she had sex with the Prince three times. Another man named in her lawsuit is famed lawyer and noted Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, who reponded by saying that the woman’s claims were “totally, unequivocally false and made up,” and said he planned to file bar complaints against the woman’s lawyers for improperly vetting their client’s story.
Andrew’s connection to Epstein dates to 2001, when Sarah Ferguson, the Prince’s ex-wife, accepted money from Epstein to pay off debts. Andrew also visited Epstein two years after the latter had been released from prison for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old prostitute.
The statement released by Buckingham Palace in response to the allegations reads:
This [lawsuit] relates to long-standing and ongoing civil proceedings in the United States, to which the Duke of York is not a party. As such we would not comment on the detail. However, for the avoidance of doubt, any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.
Andrew himself did not release a statement.
(Photo credits: WENN)
