UK royal Prince Andrew groped Epstein accuser, reveal court documents
A woman, who has claimed to be one of the survivors of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking ring, said that Britain's Prince Andrew placed his hand on her breast, as per the court documents which were made public on Wednesday (Jan 3). The incident of groping was said to have taken place at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse in 2001.
The groping incident, which was reported by other media outlets previously and has been refuted by Prince Andrew, was a part of the details mentioned in an initial trove of earlier redacted documents which revealed fewer new details regarding the extent of alleged sex trafficking activities carried out by Epstein. In the coming days, more documents are likely to be unredacted or unsealed.
Allegations are "categorically untrue”: Buckingham Palace
In the documents released, references have been made to Johanna Sjoberg - who had alleged that Prince Andrew groped her while she was sitting on a couch in the Manhattan apartment of Epstein in 2001.
Previously, Buckingham Palace had said that her allegations were "categorically untrue". In one of the depositions, Sjoberg said that Prince Andrew had placed his hand on her breast allegedly while posing for a picture in Epstein's New York mansion while they were accompanied by another accuser Virginia Giuffre as well as a puppet that said "Prince Andrew" on it.
Also read: Jeffrey Epstein's court files unsealed, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew emerge as big names
In 2022, millions were paid by the British royalty to Ms Giuffre for settling a lawsuit which was filed by her, in which she alleged that she was only 17 years old when Prince Andrew sexually abused her. Prince Andrew said that he had never met Giuffre, while categorically denying her allegations.
However, most of the royal titles were taken away from Prince Andrew because of his association with Epstein.
Epstein's sex-trafficking case
Epstein is said to have socialised with Wall Street titans, celebrities and royalty before he pleaded guilty to pushing a minor into prostitution in 2008. In 2019, he allegedly took his own life at age 66 while waiting for trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Epstein has been accused by dozens of women of forcing them to perform sexual services on him as well as his guests who stayed in his homes and private Caribbean island.
More than 150 people are part of the lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, who is one of the most prominent accusers of Epstein. The lawsuit was kept sealed for years till a federal judge ruled last month that no legal justification was there for keeping them private.
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