[ 2015-01-03 ]

Prince Andrew named in teenage sex lawsuit
Buckingham Palace has denied that the Duke of York
has committed any impropriety after he was
reportedly named in US court documents related to
a convicted paedophile.
A woman has alleged in papers filed in Florida
that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when
she was 17, which is under the age of consent in
the state.
The claim is said to have been made as part of a
lawsuit in connection with American billionaire
and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, The
Guardian reported.
Andrew was photographed with Epstein in New York
two years after the American’s release from
prison in 2009, and their friendship was a source
of controversy.
The woman making the allegations claims that
between 1999 and 2002 she “was forced to have
sexual relations with this prince when she was a
minor” in London, New York and on a private
Caribbean island owned by Epstein.
The accusation is reportedly contained in a motion
filed in a Florida court this week which is part
of a lawsuit over how federal prosecutors handled
the case of Epstein, who was sentenced to 18
months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor
for prostitution.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “This
relates to long-standing and ongoing civil
proceedings in the United States, to which the
Duke of York is not a party.
“As such we would not comment on the detail.
However, for the avoidance of doubt, any
suggestion of impropriety with under age minors is
categorically untrue”.
The Duke has been dogged by accusations of a lack
of judgment about his links with Epstein since
2011.
In June 2011, it was announced that he was
stepping down from his role as the UK’s roving
business ambassador.
Andrew gave up the post following the intense
scrutiny he faced over his relationships with
Epstein and other controversial figures.
The Guardian reported that the woman making the
claims against Andrew was allegedly converted into
a “sex slave” by Epstein.
Epstein is accused of repeatedly abusing her on
his private jet and luxury homes in New York, New
Mexico, Florida and the US Virgin Islands.
The court document alleges: “Epstein also
sexually trafficked the then-minor Jane Doe (a
name used in US legal proceedings for people with
anonymity), making her available for sex to
politically connected and financially powerful
people.
“Epstein’s purposes in ‘lending’ Jane Doe
(along with other young girls) to such powerful
people were to ingratiate himself with them for
business, personal, political, and financial gain,
as well as to obtain potential blackmail
information.”
It goes on: “For instance, one such powerful
individual Epstein forced Jane Doe to have sexual
relations with was a member of the British royal
family, Prince Andrew (aka Duke of York).”

Source - The Times(UK)

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