Andrew strongly denies he had any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking.
ADVERTISEMENTVirginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein, said Britain's Prince Andrew hasn't told the truth about his connection to the accused sex trafficker."He knows exactly what he's done, and I hope he comes clean about it," Giuffre told reporters on the steps of a Manhattan federal courthouse on Tuesday.Prince Andrew has strongly denied that he had any knowledge of Epstein's alleged crimes.Giuffre was amongmore than 20 women who spoke in courtabout alleged sexual abuse, manipulation and being trafficked at the hands of Epstein, who died by suicide at age 66 on Aug. 10. With prosecutors asking for charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy involving underage victimsto be dropped in light of his death, the court used the hearing to give Epstein's alleged victims a chance to speak.Andrew, one of Queen Elizabeth II's four children, has attempted to distance himself from the matter amid increased scrutiny since the mention of his name in court filings in a civil defamation case that were released on Aug. 9, the day before Epstein's death.The prince on Saturdayissued a statement saying that during his relationship with Epstein he was unaware of any criminal activity as described by accusers of the multimillionaire financier.
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"At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction," Andrew, 59, said in the statement from Buckingham Palace emailed to NBC News.The conviction mentioned by Andrew was apparently in reference to Epstein's plea agreement in 2008 with prosecutors in Florida under which he served 13 months of an 18-month sentence for two state prostitution charges.Andrew said in his statement that he first met Epstein in 1999 and had stayed at a number of his residences, but saw him no more than once or twice a year."This is a difficult time for everyone involved and I am at a loss to be able to understand or explain Mr Epstein's lifestyle," he said. "I deplore the exploitation of any human being and would not condone, participate in, or encourage any such behaviour."Thecourt documents released earlier this month related to a 2015 defamation lawsuit by Giuffre against British socialite and longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The documents contained a deposition by Johanna Sjoberg who alleged that as a college student she was recruited by Maxwell to work for Epstein. Sjoberg said that Andrew touched her breast while they sat on a couch in Epstein's Manhattan apartment in 2001. She was not a minor at the time.When asked about Sjoberg's allegations about Prince Andrew, Buckingham Palace told NBC News that "any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue." Buckingham Palace has also previously emphatically denied all allegations stemming from the 2015 court case.Neither Prince Andrew or any other of the men identified by Giuffre in the court filings has been charged with a crime. The defamation suit was settled out of court by Maxwell in 2017.Maxwell has not been criminally charged and has repeatedly denied accusations made against her.Epstein faced up to 45 years in prison if he was found guilty on the charges laid out last month. He had pleaded not guilty and was denied bail.His accusers are now calling on the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI to bring all of Epstein's alleged co-conspirators to justice.