The Duke of York, Prince Andrew and American Virginia Giuffre settled their rape lawsuit out of court. It is reported by The New York Times.
Prince Andrew and 18 Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre) Photo from the archive of Virginia Giuffre
According to the decision of the court in Manhattan, the son of the British queen will pay the victim a certain amount. The exact details of the payment were not disclosed.
Andrew is also going to donate money to a fund to help victims of sexual violence.
Virginia Giuffre claims that in 2001, American financier Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have a sexual relationship with Prince Andrew three times. At that time, the girl was 17 years old.
In his statement, Andrew admitted that he was aware of Epstein's years of crimes against young girls. He also stated that he «regrets his relationship with Epstein and admires the courage of Miss Giuffre and other women survivors of violence.»
Previously, the prince's lawyers accused Giuffre of filing a «baseless lawsuit» in order to cash in on Andrew's reputation. Now the prince himself said that he recognizes «her suffering as a victim of violence and unfair attacks from society.»