"Buckingham Palace has been forced to deny allegations Prince Andrew had sexual relations with a minor. "
- Details
- Category: Paedophile Rings
- Created: Friday, 02 January 2015 23:30
- Written by Philip Williams - ABC European correspondent
The Duke of York is not a party to the case so has not been able to respond to the allegations, but the Palace issued a strongly worded statement saying "for the avoidance of doubt, any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue".
Buckingham Palace said the allegations relate to a long-standing and ongoing civil proceeding in the US to which the Duke of York is not a party.
Prince Andrew was named in documents a woman filed in a Florida court over how prosecutors handled a case against Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
The woman, referred to as "Jane Doe #3" in legal papers filed this week in the US Southern District of Florida, said Epstein made her have sex with the Duke of York in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island, as part of "an orgy with numerous other under-aged girls," according to the filings.
"Epstein instructed Jane Doe #3 that she was to give the Prince whatever he demanded and required Jane Doe #3 to report back to him on the details of the sexual abuse," the documents said.
Her accusations came as part of an ongoing civil case brought against the US government by several women who say they were abused by Epstein, who served jail time on state child sex charges but was not prosecuted in federal court as part of a plea agreement.
The accuser is seeking to join litigation dating back to 2008, in which several women who say they were victimised by Epstein claim that federal prosecutors violated their rights as crime victims.
The unnamed accuser said Epstein kept her as his "sex slave" between 1999 and 2002.
Accused professor says underage sex claims are 'completely false'
She also said she had sex on private airplanes and in multiple locations in the United States with Alan Dershowitz, a professor emeritus at Harvard University and prominent American attorney who had represented Epstein.
Dershowitz called the woman's claims "completely false".
"The story is completely and totally made up," Mr Dershowitz said, adding that he planned to file a complaint seeking to have her lawyers disbarred.
"I will not rest until the truth comes out."
Prince Andrew had previously been criticised for his friendship with Epstein who has been jailed for sex offences.
Epstein is no longer jailed and listed St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands as his permanent residence in 2013, his most recent Florida sex offender filing.
The scandal has long dogged Prince Andrew, 54, the divorced second son of Queen Elizabeth.
He publicly acknowledged he made a mistake after a photograph of him with Epstein in New York was published in a British tabloid in December 2010.
Between 2001 and 2011, Prince Andrew travelled the world as the United Kingdom's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. He has not commented on newspaper reports that the association with Epstein prompted him to step down.
In 2011, one opposition politician said that Prince Andrew had become an "embarrassment" because of the connection, as well as accusations of lavish trips, links with key figures in repressive regimes and outspoken comments.
Related Story: Prince Andrew steps down as trade envoy
Map: United Kingdom
(Source : http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-03/prince-andrew-underage-sex-allegations/5998268)
