Prince Andrew has settled out of court with Virginia Giuffre in the latter’s sexual abuse case against him. The settlement amount remains undisclosed.
In a letter submitted to the court, on Tuesday, Giuffre’s lawyer stated that both parties had reached an agreement and requested the suspension of legal action as her team prepares to file for a dismissal of the case within 30 days.
A joint statement from the Duke of York and Giuffre further said, “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 accepted that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”
The development comes a few weeks after Prince Andrew sought a trial by jury in Giuffre’s lawsuit, which alleged that he had forced her to have sexual intercourse with him when she was 17. Giuffre filed her suit against Andrew in 2021 under the Child Victims Act, a New York state law that allows child sexual abuse victims to pursue claims against their abusers, even if the abuse occurred decades earlier.
The joint statement on Tuesday also mentioned Jeffrey Epstein, the late serial sexual offender who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in a sex trafficking case. Giuffre was also one of Epstein’s accusers. She alleged that Epstein kept her as a “sex slave” and forced her to have sex with Andrew at the London home of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of late media baron Robert Maxwell, who was recently convicted for her role in the trafficking and abuse of Epstein’s victims.
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“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,” said the statement.
The settlement comes as a respite for Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his military duties and royal patronages by the British royal family in January, after the US District Court of New York turned down his plea for dismissal of Giuffre’s lawsuit.
Andrew had argued that he was immune from any liability based on the 2009 agreement between Giuffre and Epstein. However, the court noted that his immunity under the settlement in question was ambiguous, since it did not mention him explicitly.