Prince Andrew Reaches Settlement With Virginia Giuffre Whom He Allegedly Raped Three Times At 17

Embattled British royal Prince Andrew has settled a civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused the prince of sexually abusing her at 17, a court filing detailed on Tuesday.

In 2021, Giuffre, also known as Virginia Roberts, lodged a lawsuit in New York against Queen Elizabeth's second son, whom she said forced her to have intercourse at several properties owned by convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the London residence of Ghislaine Maxwell, 60.

In 2019, the globetrotting financier Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan prison while awaiting trial on sexual abuse charges. His longtime associate, Maxwell, was convicted on Dec. 29, 2021, of sex trafficking and other crimes.

Throughout the case, the Duke of York, 61, did not confirm or deny his innocence but confessed he regretted his association with Epstein, according to Reuters.

In a joint statement filed in court, lawyers for Andrew and Giuffre said the royal would "demonstrate his regret" by making a "substantial donation" to Giuffre's charity to support the rights of sex trafficking survivors. The legal camps stopped short of providing the exact sum of the payment.

"Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks," the letter reads per the Daily Beast.

The settlement of the case would mean that a trial will no longer proceed. Previously, Andrew requested a jury trial, in which U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan had said a trial may begin sometime between September and December 2022.

Accordingly, he recently praised Giuffre's "bravery” amid his earlier argument that the lawsuit was baseless and that the alleged victim was simply after the money.

Notably, when Giuffre brought her case under the Child Victims Act, she had asked for an unspecified amount. The New York state law, enacted in 2019, temporarily expanded the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases, according to CNN.

Last month, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit at the back of long-running allegations against Andrew, which subsequently saw the Duke step back from royal duties in late 2019. Kaplan’s decision in January would also result in the Queen’s move to strip her son of his military titles and charities.