Will Prince Andrew's sex assault lawsuit be dismissed? Accuser's settlement UNSEALED
A settlement signed by Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre has been unsealed, and the Duke hopes this will lead to the dismissal of her sex assault lawsuit against him. As per the settlement signed by Giuffre, 38, in 2009, she agreed to be paid $500,000 by Jeffrey Epstein to resolve the sex abuse case against him. Andrew's lawyers believe that the agreement could ensure that Giuffre is not able to continue the lawsuit filed in 2020, as it absolved him of liability for future cases.
The agreement does not make any mention of Prince Andrew by name. However, it stipulates 'other potential defendants' are included in it. "Hereby release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge the said Second Parties and any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant ('Other Potential Defendants') from all, and all manner of, action and actions of Virginia Roberts," the statement says. New York federal judge Lewis Kaplan will rule on Tuesday, December 4, 2022, whether the settlement could lead to a dismissal of Giuffre's case against Andrew.
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The agreement
The agreement suggests that Giuffre had accepted $500,000 from Epstein in an attempt to settle all claims against him. In the 12-page agreement Giuffre agreed to release Epstein's "agent(s), attorney(s), predecessor(s), successor(s), heir(s), administrator(s), assign(s) and/or employee(s)". Giuffre also reportedly agreed to release "any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant ('Other Potential Defendants') from all, and all manner of, action and actions of Virginia Roberts, including State or Federal, cause and causes of action (common law or statutory), suits…and demands whatsoever in law or inequity for compensatory or punitive damages."
Here’s billionaire #Epstein’s secret agreement with Virginia Giuffre’s not to sue "other potential defendants" related to his alleged sex crimes. Now #PrinceAndrew🥵 wants to rely on this deal that was for Epstein’s inner circle, which the Prince always denied being part of🙈 pic.twitter.com/rWKPfJTvEx
— Aamer Anwar✊🏾🏳️🌈#BlackLivesMatter (@AamerAnwar) January 3, 2022
Giuffre had 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." Referring to these allegations, the Duke's lawyer Andrew Brettler said that he did qualify as somebody covered in the statement as he was identified as 'royalty' in her complaint against Epstein.
Giuffre said she slept with Andrew three times in 2001 when she was under the control of Epstein and only 17 years of age. The prince has maintained that the allegations are false.
In the latest development in the Epstein-Maxwell case, Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on Wednesday, December 29, of recruiting and grooming underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein for several years. Maxwell, who turned 60 behind the bars on November 25, sat as the verdict was read, after which she poured herself a cup of water, drank it and conferred with her lawyer. She showed no emotions as she was taken out of the federal court in Lower Manhattan. A date for sentencing is yet to be set.
Maxwell was convicted of almost all counts, with the top charge being sex-trafficking of minors, which carries a maximum of 40 years in prison. The other counts Maxwell was found guilty of are conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. While both the first and second counts carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the third carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and the fourth carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison. She was acquitted of Count 2, which involved enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
