The judge rejects Prince Andrew's maneuver to avoid being tried for sexual abuse of a minor in the Epstein case

By Rachel Elbaum -

A federal judge in New York on Wednesday rejected British Prince Andrew's request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleges he sexually abused her when she was 17 years old within the criminal plot of the late magnate Jeffrey Epstein.

Lewis Kaplan, magistrate of the Southern District of New York, ruled that it is still too early to analyze the arguments with which the prince doubts the accusation presented by Virginia Giuffre, indicating that they must be evaluated during the trial against him.

Prince Andrew sued for sexual abuse in New York court

Aug. 9, 202100: 40

Andrew's attorneys tried earlier this month to block the lawsuit brought by Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's main whistleblowers, by unveiling the details of a legal settlement in which she received $ 500,000 from the millionaire in exchange for giving up the venture. legal actions.

They had previously tried to annul the lawsuit on the grounds that the woman no longer lives in the United States, but they also met with the judge's refusal.

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

"Giuffre is pleased that Prince Andrew's motion to avoid trial has been denied, and that his arguments are now evaluated," said his attorney David Boies.

"She is looking forward to the judicial determination on how meritorious those claims are," he added.

Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, accuses Epstein and his recently convicted confidant Ghislaine Maxwell of

with Andrew, son of Queen Elizabeth II, an accusation the prince has repeatedly denied.

In a 2019 interview with British public broadcaster, Andrew, Duke of York, said he

and suggested that a photograph of them and Maxwell might have been tampered with.

[Prince Andrew resigns from public life because of his ties to billionaire and sex offender Jeffery Epstein]

The lawsuit however alleges that Andrew abused her in three places: in London, in New York and on the private island of Epstein in the US Virgin Islands, when she was under 18 years of age.