Virginia Geoffrey, the woman who sued Britain's Prince Andrew for sexual assault, has agreed to settle the case out of court, according to a court document filed by Geoffrey's attorneys on Tuesday. The parties expect to file a motion to dismiss the case within 30 days, according to a letter addressed to federal Judge Lewis Kaplan. The amount of the settlement will not be disclosed, the letter said.
"Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Geoffrey's charity in support of victims' rights. Prince Andrew never intended to discredit Geoffrey. And he acknowledges that Geoffrey has been abused and discriminated against," the letter said. The case against the prince arose from extensive and disturbing allegations against Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was serving a prison sentence as a sex offender. He was found to have had relationships with a number of powerful men.
"It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked numerous young women over many years," the letter said. "Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein. He commends Geoffrey for his courage in standing up to injustice. He pledges to demonstrate his remorse for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking and its victims."
In the lawsuit, Geoffrey alleges that Epstein trafficked her and forced her to have sex with his friends, including Prince Andrew, and that Andrew knew she was a minor in the United States at the time. She alleges that Andrew sexually abused her on Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, at his mansion in Manhattan and at the home of his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell in London.
Prince Andrew, 61, has denied the allegations. But the long-running allegations against him have already dramatically tarnished his public image, and he was forced to step back from royal duties in late 2019. Following a judge's decision last month, Andrew was stripped of his military titles and removed from his charitable responsibilities. Source: CNN
