Prince Andrew Settles Sex Abuse Lawsuit With Accuser in Out-of-Court Settlement

By Michael Hein

Prince Andrew has settled out of court with Virginia Giuffre, the woman who claims that he sexually assaulted her while she was underage as a part of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking operation. On Tuesday, new court documents were filed which show that Prince Andrew will donate an undisclosed amount of money to Giuffre's charity for victims of sexual assault to settle the lawsuit, according to a report by CBS News.

The court filings do not specify how much money Prince Andrew is donating to Giuffre's non-profit organization Victims Refuse Silence. It also did not seem to require Giuffre to recant her accusations against Prince Andrew or refrain from talking about them in the future. The document did include a statement from Prince Andrew acknowledging that Giuffre is a victim of sexual assault and human trafficking – though he still denies the allegation that he assaulted her. He pledged to support victims of these crimes going forward, starting with his donation to Giuffre's charity.

"Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks," reads the court filing. "Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims."

The settlement comes weeks after a British judge denied Prince Andrew's attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed. That ruling led the royal family to strip Prince Andrew of some honorary titles, roles, duties and patronages. International lawyer Mark Stephens told The Associated Press that the royal family most likely pressured Prince Andrew to make this settlement as well, and estimated that the total sum was around $10 million.

"Essentially, what he's done is throw himself on this judicial grenade to prevent wider damage to the royal family," Stephens said. "And I think he had no alternative but to settle because otherwise this case would have really overshadowed the Queen's Jubilee, and we would have been hearing details of what he was alleged to have done with Virginia Giuffre. And all of that would have really caused problems for the royal family more broadly."

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