Prince Andrew to challenge jurisdiction over accuser’s lawsuit in New York

Britain’s Prince Andrew plans to challenge a U.S. court’s jurisdiction over a civil lawsuit by a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her two decades ago, when she was 17.

In a Monday filing with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, a lawyer for Queen Elizabeth’s second son said Andrew also plans to contest whether he was properly served with Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit.

Andrew has denied Giuffre’s accusations, and said he had no recollection meeting her.

Giuffre, 38, has also claimed she was abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein at around the same time as Andrew’s alleged abuse.

Lawyers for Giuffre did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Andrew’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a similar request.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan scheduled an initial conference in Giuffre’s lawsuit for later on Monday.

Andrew, 61, the Duke of York, is a former friend of Epstein, a registered sex offender who killed himself in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 after U.S. prosecutors charged him with sexually exploiting dozens of girls and women.

via Reuters