Prince Andrew settles sex abuse lawsuit

(CMR) A lawsuit accusing Britain's Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre, who was then 17 years old, while she was under the control of Jeffrey Epstein and his procurer Ghislaine Maxwell has been settled out of court.

Giuffre's lawyer David Boies made the revelation in a letter filed with the Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.

The sum of the settlement is not being disclosed, but the letter to the court stated that Prince Andrew “intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights.”

In the letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, Boies wrote, “We write jointly with counsel for defendant to advise the Court that the parties reached a settlement in principle of the above-referenced action.”

“The parties anticipate filing a stipulation of dismissal of the case within thirty (30) days,” Boies wrote. “In the interim, the parties request that the Court suspend all deadlines and hold the action in abeyance.”

Andrew had denied Giuffre's allegations that he sexually abused her at various locations; there was no indication that he had wavered in that denial on Tuesday.

A document referenced in the letter, attached to the filing, said, “Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out-of-court settlement.”

“The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms. Giuffre's receipt of the settlement. Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights,” the document stated.

“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,” it added.

Last month, Prince Andrew was stripped of Royal and Military titles as pressure mounted in the lawsuit brought against him. Andrew had failed in attempts to get the suit by Giuffre tossed out. The tentative settlement means the lawsuit is expected to be dismissed soon by the judge in the case.

The deal comes less than two months after Maxwell was convicted of procuring underage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, an investment manager who killed himself in a federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges.