Prince Andrew has bought his way out of a public court battle by reaching a tentative settlement agreement with Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Giuffre was suing the British prince in a sex abuse case where she claimed: “Epstein, [Ghislaine] Maxwell, and Prince Andrew forced Plaintiff, a child, to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will.”
Andrew was stripped of his royal patronages and military titles in the fallout from the lawsuit as he initially tried to fight it.
While he may have saved himself more public humiliation by paying off his accuser, he still settles in total disgrace.
“Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out-of-court settlement,” Giuffre‘s attorney David Boies said.
“The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms. Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed).”
Giuffre and Prince Andrew will file a stipulation to dismiss the case within the next month.
In a letter submitted as an attachment to the agreement, Andrew accepts Giuffre has suffered as an “established victim” of sex abuse.
The letter 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.
“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.
“He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims,” the statement read.
At no point in the letter does Andrew issue an apology for repeatedly raping Ms. Giuffre, however.
BREAKING:
Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre reach an out of court settlement. @LawCrimeNews pic.twitter.com/VA50cYf5io
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) February 15, 2022
From The New York Post:
In January, a federal judge ruled the case could go to trial after Andrew had filed a motion to dismiss the suit.
Andrew had argued, in part, that a settlement agreement Giuffre inked with Epstein in 2009 barred her from bringing the civil suit against him.
The argument was shot down by Judge Lewis Kaplan.
In an interview with the BBC, Giuffre’s attorney, David Boies, said in January that he did not think she would be interested in a strictly financial settlement.
“A purely financial settlement is not anything I think she is interested in,” he said.
Breaking News: Prince Andrew settled a sexual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, according to a new court filing in Manhattan on Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed. https://t.co/TYOu3UhnuX
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 15, 2022
