A 2009 court settlement between sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Roberts Giuffre – the woman who accused him of sexual abuse and of trafficking her to Prince Andrew and other men – was made public this Monday (3).
The document reveals that Epstein paid Giuffre $500,000 to drop the case without him having to admit any responsibility or guilt.
The settlement was opened as part of a separate lawsuit by Giuffre against Prince Andrew. She claims that Epstein trafficked her and forced her to have sex with her friends – including the prince – and that Andrew knew she was a minor, at the time 17 years old. Prince Andrew denied the charges.
Andrew’s lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that her lawsuit violates the terms of the agreement with Epstein, in which she agreed to a “general release” of claims against Epstein and others as well.
In the revealed copy of the agreement, Andrew’s name does not appear explicitly. The brief says that it serves to “refer, release, acquit, satisfy and forever dismiss” the parties and “any other person or entity that could have been included as a potential defendant”, but does not explicitly mention any other person in the document that the CNN had access.
Two other documents were filed along with the agreement, including a “Stipulation of Dismissal” and a complaint by Epstein – both are confidential.
The agreement states that it constitutes a “final resolution” and is intended to avoid litigation, but “should not be construed as an admission of liability or guilt by any party”. The document states that it should not be used in civil or criminal proceedings against Epstein and was signed by Giuffre and Epstein on different dates in November 2009.
Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies, released a statement saying the settlement is “irrelevant” to his indictment against the prince.
“The disclosure does not mention Prince Andrew. He didn’t even know about it,” Boies said. “He could not have been a ‘potential defendant’ in the closed case against Jeffrey Epstein because he was not subject to Florida jurisdiction and because the Florida case involved federal claims he was not a party to,” the attorney argued.
“Ultimately, the reason we sought to make the deal public was to refute the allegations made by Prince Andrew’s public relations campaign,” concluded Boies.
Andrew Brettler, Prince Andrew’s lawyer, did not comment on the revealed document.
The arguing phase in the civil case against Andrew is scheduled for Tuesday (4). If the prince’s lawyers are unsuccessful or the case is not resolved, the highness could face a trial between September and December 2022. Long-standing charges against Andrew have already dramatically tarnished his public standing, and he has departed from royal obligations at the end of 2019.
Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges, was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 and died of suicide in prison a month later.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ally and ex-girlfriend, was arrested a year later and accused of facilitating Epstein’s sexual abuse scheme. A jury convicted her last week on five federal counts, including child sex trafficking and conspiracy.
Giuffre was not one of the four women who testified at the trial that they had been abused.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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