Secret files in case of girl, 17, ‘forced to have sex with Prince Andrew by Jeffrey Epstein’ to be opened after ruling
SECRET files accusing Prince Andrew of having sex with Jeffrey Epstein's 17-year-old "sex slave" are going to be unsealed by a judge.
Prince Andrew strongly denies the claims, with billionaire Epstein this week pleading not guilty to child sex trafficking charges in New York.
The 66-year-old financier is accused of recruiting girls – some aged as young as 14 – and sexually abusing them at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.
If found guilty Epstein could face 45 years in prison.
Around 2,000 files from a defamation case involving alleged trafficking victim Virgina Roberts are now due to be released following a US Court of Appeal ruling, reports.
ANDREW SEX CLAIMS
Roberts, now 35, claimed in 2015 she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew by Epstein in London, New York and the Caribbean.
The Duke of York was pictured with his arm around the then 17-year-old's waist at the home of Ghislane Maxwell - a personal aide to the financier - in London in 2001 but has strongly denied the claims.
But a judge threw the accusations against Andrew out because they were "immaterial and impertinent" to Epstein's case.
The mum-of-three accused Epstein of recruiting her as a "sex slave" - and said she had been "procured for sexual activities" by Maxwell.
Roberts then successfully sued Maxwell for defamation after she branded her a "liar" and the documents were sealed following a legal argument.
But the ruling earlier this month at the US Court of Appeal heard how public's right to know outweighed the privacy rights of people who wanted to keep secrets.
EPSTEIN CHARGES
The Duke of York, 59, has previously faced criticism over his relationship with the child abuser and was pictured walking in Central Park with him in December 2010.
That snap was taken during Andrew’s four-day stay at Epstein’s $77m mansion in Manhattan – shortly after the banker had been freed from prison after a previous child sex trafficking conviction in Florida.
It has also emerged he holidayed with Epstein in Thailand in 2001 and invited him to stay at Windsor Castle and the Queen’s Sandringham estate.
Epstein’s mansion on the Upper East Side of Mahattan, where the party reportedly took place, was raided by cops last weekend.
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Officers found pictures of naked women some of whom appeared to be underage, prosecutors said.
The billionaire hedge fund manager is accused of maintaining a “vast network of underage victims” – some as young as 14.
He faces 45 years in jail if found guilty on all counts.
The palace said: "It is emphatically denied that [Andrew] had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false."
