Britain’s Prince Andrew, who has been accused of sexual abuse of minors in the United States since Monday, has refused to cooperate with the investigation for the time being. So says David Boies, the lawyer for Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accuses the prince of rape. Andrew himself is now visiting his mother, Queen Elizabeth, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
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According to Boies, Andrew and his entourage have been refusing to cooperate with the investigation for five years — since the first allegations surfaced. “We have reached out to his lawyers several times over the years, trying to give him the opportunity to tell his side of the story, to provide explanation or context so that we could resolve this matter without legal action. But any overtures were denied. They have totally ignored us, just as they have totally ignored the US government’s criminal investigation.”
Prince Andrew himself has been staying in Balmoral, the country residence of the British royal family in Scotland, since Tuesday. Striking: Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife, is also present.
Three times raped
Giuffre was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s human trafficking, and has accused Prince Andrew of raping her three times twenty years ago, when she was 17 years old. Andrew vehemently denies those allegations. The woman filed a civil complaint against the prince in New York on Monday.
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The question remains whether that lawsuit will yield answers without the cooperation of Andrew, who cannot be forced to testify in the investigation. “But he will still have to provide answers,” said Boies. “He cannot completely ignore this process. He can ignore me and my client. He can ignore the other victims and their lawyers. But he cannot ignore the court. The judge will oblige him to testify. If he ignored that, it would mean that the verdict would be against him by definition.”
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