Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction focuses on British Prince Andrew for Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse

By Yuliya Talmazan -

The guilty verdict against Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted on Wednesday of helping to lure teenagers to be abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein, comes days before her longtime friend, British Prince Andrew, tries to have his own dismissed. civil case in a New York court.

Maxwell was convicted of five federal sex trafficking counts after a jury found that she

convicted sex offender who committed suicide in a federal jail in August 2019. .

The sentence is echoing across the Atlantic because Andrew, the son of Queen Elizabeth II, has also been accused of sexually abusing

one of Epstein's most prominent accusers.

Prince Andrew asks to dismiss lawsuit against him for sexual assault

Dec. 16, 202101: 39

Although the jury for Maxwell's trial did not hear any evidence of Prince Andrew's involvement in any crime and Giuffre did not testify, the British newspaper The Times and other outlets in that country consider the verdict

, who now He is linked to two convicted criminals.

Andrew, 61, has strongly denied Giuffre's allegations and has not been charged with any crime.

In an interview with British radio television (BBC, in English) in 2019, he said he had "no memory" of meeting Giuffre and "absolutely no memory" of an infamous photograph in which they appeared together with Maxwell in 2001.

Virginia Giuffre (then Roberts) with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001. NBC News

The prince added that he had been friends with Maxwell for decades and that it was through her that he met Epstein in 1999.

Following the verdict, Giuffre said: “We were constantly told that these people will never go to jail.

They are too powerful.

They are too rich.

And we live in a new era.

And this shows that this is not the end.

”.

“Maxwell did not act alone.

Others must be held accountable, ”he

wrote on the social network Twitter.

Giuffre filed a lawsuit this year alleging that

The prince's legal team will argue to dismiss the lawsuit at a hearing in New York early next month. 

Andrew Brettler, the prince's attorney, said in a text message Thursday that he would not issue a statement on Maxwell's verdict on behalf of Prince Andrew.

[British police close investigation against Prince Andrew in a case of sexual abuse linked to Jeffrey Epstein]

Giuffre accuses Andrew in the lawsuit of having sexually abused her on different occasions: in London and New York and on Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.

The lawsuit alleges that

and that he knew he was a victim of sex trafficking.

“Twenty years ago, Prince Andrew's wealth, power, position and connections allowed him to abuse a scared and vulnerable girl without anyone protecting her.

The time has come for me to be held accountable, ”says the lawsuit, filed Aug. 9 in the Southern District of New York.

Giuffre had already made the allegations in television interviews, including on

NBC's

The lawsuit opened a new front in its attempt to hold Andrew accountable.

It emerged on Thursday that

next week

which could be key in the legal case involving Andrew.

Prince Andrew may face trial for sexual abuse in the United States in 2022

Nov. 4, 202100: 45

Andrew's lawyers have argued that the settlement exempts him from liability because it covered "copyright" and Epstein insisted that it covered "each and every person" that Giuffre could sue.

Giuffre's attorney, for his part, said it applies "at best" to people involved in underlying Florida litigation and that Andrew is therefore excluded.

[New evidence that Epstein and Maxwell wrote to each other when their attorneys denied they did so]

Maxwell's verdict adds to what has turned out to be a tumultuous year for royalty.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, ended their separation from the royal family amid the death of Prince Philip and accusations of racism against other members of the family. 

Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented eight of Epstein's victims, told British tabloid The Daily Mail on Thursday that

over Maxwell's verdict.

Meghan Markle receives public apology from Daily Mail after winning court battle

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"She is now a convicted sex trafficker," said Bloom.

"So that brings us a little closer to Prince Andrew," he added.

In an analysis of the case Thursday, The Times said that with Maxwell's conviction, the prince's chances of defeating Giuffre's legal action "appear even slimmer than before." 

"When jurors are selected to hear Giuffre's civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew, there is one key fact they will remember: that Andrew's friend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was found guilty by a New York court," it read.

British television host Piers Morgan also dealt a veiled blow to the prince, saying that many powerful figures should be very nervous if Maxwell decides to expose Epstein's accomplices to potentially avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. 

"If it does, there could be a ton of rich, powerful and famous people sweating tonight ... and not sweating,"

Morgan tweeted in what appeared to be a reference to Prince Andrew's claim in the 2019 BBC interview. that you had a medical condition that prevents you from sweating. 

Andrew has stepped down from his public role since the interview and has kept a low profile to avoid further tarnishing the royal family's reputation.