Who is Caroline Kaufman? Epstein victim claims Prince Andrew visited pedo the night she was raped
Prince Andrew is yet again in the middle of a controversy after lawyers of an alleged victim of Jeffery Epstein threatened to serve him with legal papers. Representatives for the alleged victim, Caroline Kaufman, said that on the night Kaufman, now 28, said she was raped by Epstein, Andrew was visiting the pedophile financier's home in New York. The alleged assault took place in December 2010.
Kaufman had earlier said she had become suicidal after being raped by Epstein. She also claimed to have developed a serious bone disease, osteomyelitis, as a result of being hit in her face by the billionaire. The disease reportedly causes deep pain and muscle spasms.
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Kaufman's lawyers have called for Andrew to provide a statement as a potential witness to events that unfolded in the Upper East Side townhouse during his visit. The civil lawsuit, however, does not accuse Andrew of any wrongdoing. It also does not say that he was aware of any attack on Kaufman, who was 17 at the time of the incident.
Spencer Kuvin, who represents Kaufman, said that he wanted Andrew to give a statement about his visit to the New York townhouse. "We are looking into serving Prince Andrew. We’d get a subpoena issued here in the States which is brought over to England and localised, then we would have to locate him and have him served. He should be a fairly easy target to locate," he told Sunday Mirror.
Kaufman said in a claim filed at the Manhattan Federal Court against Epstein’s $630 million estate that she was invited to his house for a "modelling interview". It was there that she was allegedly taken to a massage room and raped by Epstein. Andrew previously refused to accept that he saw any wrongdoing by Epstein.
On a previous occasion, when Andrew and Epstein's victim Virginia Roberts' lawsuit against him was settled, Andrew had said he would "fight against the evils of sex-trafficking, and by supporting its victims." Kaufman's lawyer Kuvin has now said, "If Prince Andrew wants to stay true to his word I urge him to provide a statement about what happened the night Caroline was attacked. He should be volunteering, we shouldn’t be looking into serving him to get his deposition. Caroline wants to know what he has to say. She wants all witnesses to come forward."
Earlier, Prince Andrew was accused of sexual assault by Epstein's victim, Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre claimed that she was "required to be sexually exploited by (Epstein's) adult male peers, including royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen, and/or other professional and personal acquaintances."
Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew, alleging sexual assault in London, New York, and on Epstein's private Caribbean island. The lawsuit was formally dismissed on March 8 this year, after the two reached a settlement. The case was officially closed after Manhattan federal court Judge Lewis Kaplan signed a dismissal stipulation earlier this year. The court document stated that Roberts and Andrew will pay their own legal costs and fees.