Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre rejected Prince Andrew’s denial that he was involved in alleged sex trafficking and sexual abuse that took place over the course of years.
“He knows exactly what he’s done,” Giuffre said on Tuesday after testifying about her experiences in court. “And I hope he comes clean about it.”
Giuffre originally sued billionaire financier Epstein in 2009, saying he and others raped her repeatedly when she was a minor. Giuffre has maintained the 59-year-old member of the British Royal family was an active participant in the wrongdoings of his now deceased friend and was a member of his inner circle.
Epstein was accused of several salacious crimes including trafficking and abusing underage girls between 2002-2005 in cities across the globe, including his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Little St. James. He was found unresponsive in his cell while awaiting trial on Aug. 10 and was later pronounced dead. While his death was ruled a suicide by hanging, many still hold skepticism that there are unanswered questions in his death.
Andrew, the fourth son of Queen Elizabeth, issued a statement from Buckingham palace on Saturday saying, “At no stage during the limited time I spent with him [Epstein] did I see, witness, or suspect any behavior of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.”
“This is a difficult time for everyone involved and I am at a loss to be able to understand or explain Mr Epstein’s lifestyle,” Andrew’s statement continued. “I deplore the exploitation of any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such behavior.”
Andrew was also named in a 2015 defamation suit by Giuffre against Epstein confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been accused of recruiting underage girls for Epstein and his associates. The suit included a deposition by a young woman, Johanna Sjöberg, who alleged Andrew touched her breast without consent in Epstein’s New York apartment in 2001. Sjöberg was not a minor at the time of the alleged incident. The suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
Epstein, who was awaiting criminal trial for his accused crimes, faced up to 45 years in prison at the time of his death. Neither Andrew nor any of the other men Giuffre accused of participating in sexual crimes have been charged.
