Prince Andrew claims Virginia Giuffre ‘worked to find sl*tty girls for Jeffrey Epstein’ & she wants ‘payday’ from him
PRINCE Andrew has claimed that Virginia Giuffre "worked to find sl*tty girls for Jeffrey Epstein".
It comes as the Duke of York's legal team accused his alleged victim of profiting from the Epstein scandal and claimed she filed the lawsuit because she was out for another "payday".
In a bid to prove the Duke's innocence, his lawyers claimed Giuffre worked to provide Jeffrey Epstein with underage “sl*tty girls” before adding that by making false allegations and using court time she is allowing real predators to get away, in court papers seen by the .
Virginia, 38, accused the Duke in a civil lawsuit that was filed in New York in August of "rape in the first degree" and sexual assault three times when she was underage.
She claims the attacks allegedly took place in London, New York and on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean in 2001.
In a legal response filed on Friday, Prince Andrew's lawyers were seeking to dismiss the civil case.
One section titled “Giuffre’s role in Epstein’s criminal enterprise” quotes Crystal Figueroa, the sister of one of Giuffre’s ex-boyfriends, who claims she was asked to help providing underage girls: “She [Giuffre] would say to me, ‘Do you know any girls who are kind of sl*tty?’”
The court filing continues: “It is a striking feature of this case that while lurid allegations are made against Prince Andrew by Giuffre, the only party to this claim whose conduct has involved the wilful recruitment and trafficking of young girls for sexual abuse is Giuffre herself, including while she was an adult.”
Most read in The Sun
The lawyers have also argued that Giuffre's lawsuits are wasting resources allowing real paedophiles to get away with their crimes.
The document reads: “Giuffre’s pattern of filing a series of lawsuits against numerous high-profile individuals should no longer be tolerated, as it continues to irreparably harm many innocent people and diverts already limited judicial resources from the adjudication of meritorious claims asserted against those who have actually perpetrated sexual offences against minors.”
Prince Andrew's US lawyer, Andrew Brettler said: “For over a decade, Giuffre has profited from her allegations against Epstein and others by selling stories and photographs to the press and entering into secret agreements to resolve her claims against her alleged abusers, including Epstein and his ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
“Most people could only dream of obtaining the sums of money that Giuffre has
secured for herself over the years.
“This presents a compelling motive for Giuffre to continue filing frivolous lawsuits against individuals such as Prince Andrew, whose sullied reputation is only the latest collateral damage of the Epstein scandal.”
He continued by saying Prince Andrew denies “unequivocally” Virginia's claims.
He said: “Without diminishing the harm suffered as a result of Epstein’s alleged misconduct, Prince Andrew never sexually abused or assaulted Giuffre.
“He unequivocally denies Giuffre’s false allegations against him.”
'DEPLORABLE'
But Andrew was accused of "victim shaming" his accuser by branding her a "money-hungry sex kitten", the reports.
Joan Smith, former co-chairwoman of the Mayor of London's Violence Against Women group, said: "The Duke of York seems to be living in the 1950s when abused women were often described as gold diggers.
"Accusing a known victim of sexual exploitation of being motivated by money is about as low as you can get.
"It is victim shaming and further evidence of his appalling judgment. Andrew is just dragging his reputation further into the gutter."
And the chief executive of NIA, a London-based charity aimed at ending sexual and domestic violence against women, described his "lack of empathy and contempt for victim-survivors of sexual violence" as "deplorable".
Karen Ingala Smith added: "It is grossly dishonest to claim on one hand that sexual violence is abhorrent and then on the other to brand those seeking legal redress as frivolous money grabbers."
Andrew’s defence team cited a clause in a 2009 settlement between Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein, in a bid to dismiss her lawsuit.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The secret agreement is said to release lawyers, employees, agents and heirs from liability in connection with the Epstein case – but Andrew is claiming it stretches to him too.
A pre-trial hearing is set to take place before a judge in New York on Wednesday.
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The Sun news desk?
Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4104. You can WhatsApp us on 07423 720 250. We pay for videos too.
Click here to upload yours.