The release of court documents relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has dealt a further blow to Prince Andrew’s efforts to restore his reputation. The files, unsealed on the order of Judge Loretta Preska, were gathered for Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 defamation case against Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in a US prison for conspiring with Epstein.
In one witness statement, Johanna Sjoberg claimed the Duke of York groped her breast at Epstein’s New York residence in 2001 when she was 20. She alleged that Maxwell showed a puppet resembling the prince, and a photo was taken with the puppet’s hand on Giuffre’s breast and Andrew’s hand on Sjoberg’s breast. Buckingham Palace previously described the allegations as “categorically untrue”.
Another filing, concerning a Jane Doe #3 believed to be Giuffre, claims she was forced to have sexual relations with Andrew as a minor in London, New York and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands. Giuffre has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell and forced to have sex with Andrew at age 17, claims he has repeatedly denied.
The documents also reveal Maxwell’s fear of being questioned over her links to Andrew. In a 2015 email to her lawyer, she wrote: “I don’t want to end up in a lawsuit aimed at me from anyone … Apparently even saying Virginia is a liar has hazard!” She added: “What is my relationship to Clinton? Andrew on and on.” In her deposition, Maxwell said there were no underage girls on the island when Andrew visited, only staff.
Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing, including in his 2022 settlement with Giuffre, in which he expressed regret over his association with Epstein. Buckingham Palace declined to comment, noting he is no longer a working royal. Meanwhile, the campaign group Republic has reported Andrew to the police over the latest allegations, claiming there has been no serious criminal investigation.
