Judge throws out Prince Andrew 'sex slave' claims
Accusations aboutthe Duke of York struck from the record as US court denies woman's attempt to join a lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 April, 2015, 9:11pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 April, 2015, 9:18pm
The Guardian in New York and London
Prince Andrew had been accused of sexual abuse.Photo: AFP
Allegations a 17-year-old was forced to have sex with Britain's Prince Andrew, which prompted a crisis at Buckingham Palace earlier this year, have been removed from a federal court case by a judge in the US.
Judge Kenneth Marra ordered Virginia Roberts's accusations about Andrew, the Duke of York, to be struck from the record and denied her attempt to join a lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein, a friend of the prince and a convicted sex offender.
"At this juncture in the proceedings, these lurid details are unnecessary," Marra wrote in his order, issued at the US district court in southern Florida on Tuesday. "These unnecessary details shall be stricken." Andrew and Buckingham Palace vehemently deny Roberts's allegations.
Marra made no ruling or statement about the veracity of Roberts's allegations. He said the "factual details regarding with whom and where" she had sex were "immaterial and impertinent" to her argument that she should be allowed to join the lawsuit.
However, Marra noted Roberts may yet appear as a witness when the long-running case finally goes to trial. Her attorneys, who were unavailable for comment, have previously said she was prepared to testify.
Palace aides were this week assessing the latest legal development before deciding whether to issue a statement in response. Five court filings in the Florida case, including a document filed on December 30 last year in which Andrew was first accused, were immediately sealed from the public.
The filing at that time placed Andrew under intense pressure, forcing him to return to his home at Windsor from a skiing holiday in Verbier, Switzerland.
The duke only resumed public engagements in late January where he was pursued by reporters and used a speech "to reiterate and to reaffirm" the existing Buckingham Palace denials of what courtiers described as "lurid and deeply personal" claims.
Buckingham Palace broke with convention to address the sex claims, and Andrew approved a statement which vehemently denied "any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts". It continued: "The allegations made are false and without any foundation."
Roberts, who is referred to in the case only as Jane Doe 3, and a fourth woman were seeking to join two other alleged victims of Epstein in suing the US government over a plea deal that federal prosecutors struck with the hedge fund tycoon in 2008.
Under the plea agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. He received an 18-month jail sentence and served 13 months before being released. He remains a registered sex offender in Florida and the US Virgin Islands, where he lives on a private island.
The agreement was criticised as being extraordinarily lenient by attorneys for a series of women who allege that Epstein sexually abused them when they were under the age of consent.
Roberts has for years alleged that she travelled around the world with Epstein as his "sex slave" and was made to have sex with some of his influential associates, including prominent politicians and royalty.
Marra ruled the application by Roberts and Jane Doe 4 should be denied, as it was "entirely unnecessary" for the pair to be added as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The women suing Epstein allege the government's plea deal violated their rights as victims.
Allegations Roberts was also made to have sex with Alan Dershowitz, the famed Harvard law professor and another friend of Epstein, were also struck from the case by Marra. The judge said a legal attempt by Dershowitz to intervene was now unnecessary.
