Victims' lawyer urges Prince Andrew to "be a man" and talk to police
A lawyer representing some of the women hoping to seek justice after allegedly being sexually abused by deceased millionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (and his associates), has urged Epstein's former friend Prince Andrew to "be a man" and speak with police.
The royal was first embroiled in the scandal when a key whistleblower in the case, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, said that she'd had sex with the Prince while underage and produced a photo of the pair together at Epstein's former girlfriend's house. Said ex-partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, was yesterday arrested by the FBI and is charged with six offences. Attentions are now turning to other high profile names involved in the case.
Legal representative Spencer Kuvin, while speaking to BBC Radio 4 Today, said of the matter, "I certainly think Prince Andrew has a story to tell. On behalf of the victims be have continuously asked him to step forward, step up, be a man and tell us what he knows."
“He has been hiding behind not only the royal family but his attorneys. Regardless of his position we, on behalf of the victims, hope that he will step forward and speak up about what he witnessed, at the very least when he was visiting the (Epstein) mansion in New York, when he visited the home in Palm Beach and when we know he was down visiting the Virgin Islands’ mansion.”
Another lawyer acting on behalf of alleged victims, Gloria Allred, has echoed these sentiments (according to a report from the Evening Standard), saying the Duke of York is effectively subjecting victims of Epstein to a “torture test” by staying quiet about “what he knows”. She added that he is “avoiding and evading” law authorities by not providing a statement.
This all comes in contrast to what Prince Andrew himself has said on the matter – not only has he strongly denied the claims that he slept with an underage girl, but he's also refuted stories saying he hasn't been cooperating with the police.
"Far from our client acting above the law, as has been implied by press briefings in the US, he is being treated by a lower standard than might reasonably be expected for any other citizen," the royal's legal team said in a statement. They also added that he has offered to speak with them at least three times.
Yesterday, in a press conference announcing Ghislaine Maxwell's arrest, SDNY acting district attorney Audrey Strauss said they would "welcome" a statement from Andrew.
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