Prince Andrew’s legal team face further pressure after a victim of Jeffrey Epstein claimed last night that Virginia Giuffre told her in 2001 that she had had sex with the Duke.
Carolyn Andriano, who testified in the trial of sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, has claimed in an interview with the Daily Mail that the then-17-year-old Ms Giuffre confided in her at the time of the incident.
Ms Andriano’s claims are the first contemporaneous report of the alleged sexual assault. Prince Andrew strongly denies any wrong doing and has previously said that he cannot remember meeting Ms Giuffre.
Prince Andrew’s representatives were contacted for comment.
Both Prince Andrew and Ms Giuffre’s legal teams are waiting on a decision from a New York judge about whether their civil case can go to trial.
The judge overseeing Prince Andrew’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit from Ms Giuffre promised to hand down a ruling “pretty soon” after a heated hearing on Tuesday. However no decision has yet been made.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Prince Andrew’s lawyers argued the 2009 agreement signed by Epstein and Ms Giuffre protects the Duke of York and should be grounds for dismissing her current suit against him.
