Prince Andrew sex abuse case trial likely in late 2022

A US district judge said Wednesday that a sexual abuse lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew is likely to go before a New York jury by the end of next year.

The 61-year-old son of Queen Elizabeth IIis being sued by Virginia Giuffre, a 38-year-old woman who alleges the British royal sexually assaulted her more than 20 years ago when she was a minor.

Andrew has not been criminally charged and has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations.

New York southern district Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan told Andrew's and Giuffre's attorneys at a pre-trial teleconference that he couldn't give an exact date, citing the pandemic, but that he would "anticipate" a trial date "somewhere in the September to December period of next year."

What is Andrew accused of?

Giuffre sued Andrew for unspecified damages in August. She alleges that Andrew forced her to have sex at the London home of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a former girlfriend of the late disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

She also said Andrew abused her at Epstein's home in New York and on his private island in the US Virgin Islands.

Guiffre says Epstein lent her out for sex with his wealthy and powerful associates, including Andrew.

How has he responded?

Wednesday's conference comes several days after Andrew said he "unequivocally denies Giuffre's false accusations against him," while urging Kaplan to dismiss the lawsuit.

Andrew's lawyers have said Giuffre is seeking "another payday" in a years-long effort to profit from her accusations against Epstein and his associates, including Giuffre's purported receipt of "millions of dollars" in a 2017 settlement of a civil defamation lawsuit against Maxwell.

"Accusing a member of the world's best known royal family of serious misconduct has helped Giuffre create a media frenzy online and in the traditional press," attorney Andrew Brettler wrote in his filing on Prince Andrew's behalf.

Andrew gave up royal duties and lost a lot of support from charities and organizations in 2019 after he was criticized for appearing unsympathetic to Epstein's victims in a television interview. 

Lawyers of both parties say they plan to seek depositions from eight to 12 individuals each, including Andrew and Giuffre themselves.

In 2019, Epstein died in a Manhattan jail of what was ruled to be a suicide. He was awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges. Since his death, many of his former associates have been accused of being connected with sex crimes. 

Maxwell is set to go on trial in New York on November 29 on charges that she recruited underage girls for Epstein to abuse. She has pleaded not guilty.

wmr/fb (Reuters, AFP, AP)