Prince Andrew’s lawyer denied during a hearing Monday that his client had abused an underage woman. In addition, according to the lawyer, Andrew Brettler, the civil lawsuit that the woman has filed in New York may not be legally valid.
The prince has been sued by Virginia Giuffre, who says he repeatedly assaulted her when she was 17 years old.
During the telephone hearing, Brettler said Giuffre settled a separate lawsuit in 2009. With that, she would have agreed that she no longer had the right to sue the prince. “The prosecution has made an arrangement that will exempt the Duke of York and others from possible liability,” said the lawyer, who called in from Los Angeles. “This is an unfounded, non-viable and potentially illegal lawsuit.”
Giuffre would also not have lawfully subpoenaed Prince Andrew. For example, the papers of the summons would have been handed over to a police officer who guarded the prince’s house. However, the woman’s lawyer states that the documents were handed over perfectly.
Giuffre, now 38, claims that the son of the British Queen Elizabeth abused her more than twenty years ago, around the same time that she was also sexually abused by controversial businessman Jeffrey Epstein. The prince denies the allegations against him.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 13.