Prince Andrew, Duke of York, has been served a sexual assault lawsuit brought against him by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, according to New York federal court records.
Andrew is being sued by Virginia Giuffre, 38, in the Southern District Court of New York, who alleges the duke sexually abused her multiple times in New York, London and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands. Ky from 2000. and 2002 when she was under 18 years old.
The Duke has repeatedly denied having sex with Giuffre, most notably in one disastrous BBC interview in November 2019 in which he tried to defend himself, claiming that he had never met her. Immediately after the interview was broadcast, Andrew announced that he had “stepped back” from royal public duties.
The affidavit served Friday says a member of Andrew’s security team formally received notice of the lawsuit against him at his private home, the Royal Lodge on the grounds of Windsor Castle, on May 27. 8.
In the affidavit, Cesar Augusto Sepulveda said it took him two days to deliver the documents because on his first attempt on August 26, Andrew’s security team told him they had been instructed not to accept service of any court process or “allow anyone. to attend there for the purposes of court proceedings on property grounds.”
Upon returning the next day, Sepulveda met with Andrew’s chief of security, who told him he could leave the documents with one of the Royal Lodge bodyguards and they would be forwarded to the legal team. of the duke. The head of security refused to allow Sepulveda to serve Andrew in person.
The documents list London-based criminal defense attorney Gary Bloxsome as the duke’s attorney. BuzzFeed News has reached out to Bloxsome for comment on the affidavit of service and the document’s claim that his security team has been instructed not to accept the court documents. He didn’t reply.
However, according to ABC NewsBloxsome reportedly questioned the legitimacy of the service and called the actions of Giuffre’s legal team “regrettable” in a letter obtained by the network. In the document, which ABC News said was sent by Bloxsome to British justice official Barbara Fontaine on September 6, lawyers argue that the manner in which the case was served renders the service invalid under British law.
“Unsatisfied with some very good reason to do so, our customers are highly unlikely to readily agree to any form of alternative service while the approach to serving the This proceedings remains infrequent and the viability of the claim remains in doubt,” Bloxsome wrote.
The first instance conference will take place virtually by phone on Monday. It is unclear whether the attorneys representing Andrew will be involved, as no documents have been filed in federal court in his defense.
