In this week's episode of the HJ Talks About Abuse podcast, we look at the civil case that has been brought against Prince Andrew in the US, at a New York federal court under the state’s Child Victims Act.

This is brought by Virginia Giuffre who claims that Prince Andrew had sex with her while she was 17 (a minor), with the knowledge that she had been trafficked by his former friend, Jeffrey Epstein. She claims that incidents occurred in both New York and in London.

Prince Andrew is the sole defendant to the civil suit. Thus far, he does not appear to have responded to the issuing of the claim.

Often, the place of residence of the Defendant and the place of the injury would be the place that has jurisdiction and where the case should ultimately be brought. In this case, the UK would seem suitable. Alan and Feleena discuss why the claim may be being brought in the US as opposed to the UK.

Giuffre’s lawyers, we assume, have considered the limitation issues and the applicable laws in both the US and UK and found the US preferrable for Giuffre.

Another consideration appears to be tactical and in relation to the other criminal proceedings that have occurred. This includes the case against Ghislaine Maxwell. She has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking charges and faces trial in November. (Epstein took his own life in a US federal jail in August 2019, a month after he was arrested on the same charges.)

The case will, no doubt, develop and receive a lot of media coverage which we will be following with interest.

We encourage anyone who has comments or concerns relating to this subject, or about abuse in general, to get in touch with Alan Collins at [email protected] or Feleena Grosvenor at [email protected].

Sources:

Prince Andrew cannot ignore US court case, says accuser’s lawyer | Prince Andrew | The Guardian