Virginia Giuffre has targeted Prince Andrew with a lawsuit, according to the Associated Press, which reported that the woman has previously made public accusations against the prince, including that he sexually assaulted her when she was just 17 years old.
In a statement, Giuffre said she is “holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me” from 1999 to 2002, the outlet reported.
“The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions,” she said. “I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one’s life by speaking out and demanding justice.
“I did not come to this decision lightly,” she noted. “As a mother and a wife, my family comes first — and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates — but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down.”
The AP noted that Prince Andrew has previously said that he did not ever have sex with her and that he has “no recollection” of ever meeting Giuffre.
The outlet reported that the lawsuit alleges Andrew abused her on more than one occasion when she was younger than 18 years old, and in each instance she faced “express or implied threats” from Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and/or Andrew to participate in sexual acts with Andrew.
According to the AP, the suit says that Giuffre “feared death or physical injury to herself or another and other repercussions for disobeying” the three due to their “powerful connections, wealth, and authority.”
The suit said that in one case at Maxwell’s London home the three made Giuffre have sex with Andrew and in another case at Epstein’s New York mansion Maxwell made Giuffre and another individual sit on the prince’s lap while he touched her, according to the AP. The suit also claimed that the prince perpetrated sexual abuse against Giuffre at Epstein’s private island.
Epstein had been charged criminally with sex trafficking prior when he committed suicide in 2019, according to the AP.
Maxwell has plead not guilty to sex trafficking charges and is slated to stand trial in November, according to the outlet.