Duke of York acknowledges court papers over ‘sex assault’ claims
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The Duke of York has acknowledged he has been served with a lawsuit from a woman who claims he assaulted her, US officials have said.
Virginia Giuffre is seeking damages after alleging that Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was under 18.
He vehemently denies the allegations.
They are part of a civil claim which is being brought through the US courts.
Tuesday’s acknowledgement was confirmed in a joint agreement which was signed by Andrew’s lawyer and approved by a Manhattan federal judge before entered into the public court record.
The papers were signed on Andrew’s behalf by his Los Angeles-based lawyer Andrew Brettler.
The papers were served on September 21 and Andrew has until October 29 to provide a response.
A further legal conference has been set for November 3.
Ms Giuffre is suing the Queen’s son for allegedly sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions.
Ms Giuffre claims she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with Andrew when she was aged 17 and a minor under US law.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 while he awaited a sex trafficking trial.
The death was ruled to be suicide.
Ms Giuffre is seeking unspecified damages, but there is speculation the sum could be in the millions of dollars.
Court documents show that lawyers for both sides spoke on September 21 and the time for the duke to respond was extended.
This latest point in the legal process is so a judge can be satisfied that proper notification of the allegations has been delivered to the defendant and they have enough time to respond.
In a previous legal hearing Mr Brettler said that Ms Giuffre had previously entered into a “settlement agreement” with Epstein in 2009 that would nullify her case.
The 2009 settlement is currently sealed.
