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Prince Andrew denies abuse allegations

Prince Andrew Formally Denies Sex-Abuse Claims in Court Filing

Prince Andrew Photographer: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

Prince Andrew raised consent and “unclean hands” as defenses against Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit claiming he sexually abused her when she was a teenager.

(Bloomberg) — 

In the formal answer he filed Wednesday to Giuffre’s suit in Manhattan federal court, the British royal said her claims were barred by her own wrongful actions. He didn’t specify the conduct to which he was referring.

It also wasn’t clear from the filing what Andrew mean by consent. He denies having sex with Giuffre, who claims he was one of several men to whom Jeffrey Epstein “lent” her for sexual abuse.

“Assuming, without admitting, that Giuffre has suffered any injury or damage alleged in the complaint, Giuffre’s claims are barred by the doctrine of consent,” Andrew said in Wednesday’s filing.

He asked that the case be decided by a jury.

Andrew had hoped to avoid filing an answer to Giuffre claims by asking U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to dismiss the suit outright on the grounds that it was barred by a 2009 settlement she signed with Jeffrey Epstein in 2009. The judge denied his motion to dismiss, saying it was too early in the case to interpret the settlement agreement.

In Wednesday’s filing, Andrew admitted he met Epstein in 1999 but denied “that he was a co-conspirator of Epstein or that Epstein trafficked girls to him.”

© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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